


Finding the Silver

by Shareon



Category: Maria-sama ga Miteru, Ranma 1/2
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 166,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shareon/pseuds/Shareon
Summary: Ranma didn't understand how attending Lillian Private Girls' School related to mastery of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. However, past experience had demonstrated time and again how esoteric training could lead to incredible results. A crossover between "Maria-sama ga Miteru" and "Ranma 1/2."
Comments: 88
Kudos: 49





	1. New School

Title: Finding the Silver

Author: Shareon

Summary: Ranma didn't understand how attending Lillian Private Girls' School related to mastery of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. However, past experience had demonstrated time and again how esoteric training could lead to incredible results. A crossover between "Maria-sama ga Miteru" and "Ranma 1/2."

* * *

Prologue:

"Gokigenyou."

This clear, morning greeting is nowhere to be heard under the serene, blue sky.

While the phrase is equally appropriate for salutations and farewells, it is so formal and stately as to be almost unknown to itinerant martial artists. It would be much more commonly found on the lips of pure maidens wrapped in deep-colored school uniforms as they pass under the tall gateways of places such as Lillian Private Girls' School.

Founded in Meiji 34, Lillian was originally intended as an academy for young women of nobility, and it has endured as a Catholic school of prestigious tradition. Located in downtown Tokyo, where you can still see traces of Musashi Field's greenery, it is a place protected by God, a garden where maidens can receive tutelage from preschool to university. 

Time passes, and even now, in Heisei, three era-names past Meiji, Lillian remains a valuable academy. Nurtured ladies raised in greenhouses are shipped out in carefully packaged boxes after 18 years of education. It is an arrangement which continues to survive.

But such a place is far distant from here, the expansive plains of rural Japan.

He, Ranma Saotome, is the son of Genma Saotome. He is the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and that fact has necessitated his traveling with his father on an extended training trip for over a decade. He is cursed by Jusenkyou to transform into a girl when brought into contact with cold water, only to transform back into a boy with a similar application of hot water. He is as far away from Lillian in circumstances as he is physically.

Such a phrase has nothing to do with him.

* * *

Chapter 1: New School

Ranma gazed over the horizon. The sun was shining, and birds were flying through the air. The only traces of the storm the night before were the small puddles still scattered around their camp.

"It's good that the rain's stopped," Ranma said, relieved at the change in the weather. He hated hiking through the rain. It was cold, wet, and generally miserable, and that had been before their recent trip to Jusenkyou. Ever since then, the rain also brought with it the horrible smell of Genma whenever he was a panda, adding an olfactory offense to the experience.

"What's that?" Genma asked. He was on the trailing end of middle-aged, with a fat stomach and a bald head which he kept hidden from the world beneath a bandanna. He wore a pair of glasses to compensate for his slowly deteriorating eyesight. Despite that, he was also the strongest, fastest, and most skilled martial artist Ranma had ever fought. He was also the laziest. As was typical, he was lounging around as Ranma broke camp.

"I said, 'It's good that the rain's stopped,'" Ranma repeated. He stowed their dismantled tent into his travel pack and moved to smother the last remnants of their campfire.

"Hmm..." Genma said, nodding his head. "The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril."

"Yeah, yeah. Where are we going next, anyway?" Ranma asked. He hoped it was somewhere in a city. Food was more reliable there than in the wilderness, and they were far less likely to be attacked by something like a bear or a wolf. The downside was that in a city, they would also need to avoid being discovered. That meant no fires, cold dinners, and cautious movements everywhere. It was a close balance, but he preferred the reliable food.

"About that. You've learned much over our training trip, and I think it's time for you to begin your first steps to becoming a master of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Genma said. He spoke dramatically, which would have had more of an impact if he wasn't still slouched back against a tree.

"What're you on about? I can already beat you," Ranma said, naturally dismissing his father's proclamation. Genma always like to make grandiose statements. Almost invariably, they turned out to be substantially overstated. On the other hand, Ranma could also overstate things. He could beat Genma in a fight, but he lost more often than he won.

"Don't get cocky, boy. I've been holding back on you."

Ranma scoffed.

Genma pushed himself forward and stood up. He looked over at Ranma and said, "You couldn't survive one week without me, and that's what we're going to fix. It's time for you to learn the most powerful set of techniques I ever created: the Umisenken."

That caught Ranma's attention. The Fist of a Thousand Seas. It was possible that Genma was exaggerating again, but the name certainly sounded like the real thing. Ranma's mind raced as he pictured what it could be. Some kind of super-attack based on the power of the ocean? Some kind of secret form of protection, hidden deep beneath the waves? The name was impressive, but it gave away nothing.

"What's that?" Ranma asked eagerly. He always liked to add new techniques to his repertoire, and Genma's description made this set sound even more intriguing than normal.

Genma crossed his arms, proud of the effect of his words. He said, "That's what I thought. For this, you'll need some special training." He leaned forward towards Ranma, which prompted Ranma to do the same. At the right moment, Genma threw a canteen of water right into Ranma's face.

The cold water triggered Ranma's transformation. She shrank several decimeters, changing from a fairly average height for a boy to being rather short for a girl. This was accompanied by a commensurate shrinking of her arms, legs, and torso. The exception to this was her bust and hips, both of which expanded and declared her gender with their decidedly large size. Even her hair, although it remained in its characteristic pigtail, shifted from a solid black to a vivid and eye-catching red.

"What'd you do that for?" Ranma sputtered in her new voice, surprise and annoyance vying for dominance in her exclamation. She was all the more annoyed because she had been caught by surprise. Even after all these years, Genma still managed to catch her off guard from time to time.

Ranma quickly wiped her face semi-dry with her hand.

"For this training, you'll need to be a girl," Genma said, as if imparting one of the great secrets of the universe to her.

"Are you crazy? I'm a guy!" Her voice sounded harsh from the force of her exclamation.

"I know. It's important you never forget that," Genma said, nodding. "But for this, you'll need to blend in. Pretend. Believe me, compared to the stuff the master did to me and Tendo-kun, this is easy." He shuddered, his eyes glazed by some distant horror only he could see. He shook himself back to the present and said, "The first step of your training will be to infiltrate Lillian Private Girls' School."

"What? Why?" Ranma asked. She didn't see how that could be connected in any way to any set of martial arts techniques.

"Don't worry about that for now, boy. Do the first step first. I'll explain the next step later. I don't want to overwhelm you, after all," Genma said. He then gave a hearty laugh. "Besides, it will make it easier to perform the technique if you don't know its final form."

Ranma shook her head and muttered to herself, "Stupid pops."

To say she was skeptical would be an understatement. Even considering all of the strange exercises Genma had put her through over the years, this latest one still managed to be rather unusual. She figured it would make sense sooner or later, though. It usually did. Sometimes.

Ranma hitched her traveling pack onto her back, and she followed Genma across the countryside. He led her on a moderate hike across a field until they reached a small road. They then followed it as it merged into a bigger road and eventually into a highway. As they walked, she ruminated on what this set of techniques could be, growing more and more excited as she did so. If there was one thing she had noticed over all her years of traveling and training, it was the trend that the more esoteric the training, the more powerful the end result would be. For example, Fukuyama had enforced some of the craziest requirements Ranma had ever been subjected to, but her results with the naginata were indisputable. Attending a girls' school was possibly the second most bizarre thing Genma had ever had her do. That, combined with the promises he had made, left her equal parts curious and eager.

As they continued to walk along the highway, cars speeding past them in a whirl of noise, there was a steady increase in both the number and the size of buildings. First there was only an occasional farm house. Those gave way to small towns, which in turn gave way to suburban neighborhoods, until eventually even skyscrapers were commonplace. The size of the city and the number of tall office buildings it contained made it easy to identify that they had returned to Tokyo once again.

Genma led the way straight to Lillian. He entered the tall gate in the front of the school and hurried through the grounds inside. The speed at which he moved allowed Ranma only a cursory look around her as she tried to keep up.

The large campus felt closer to a temple or a church than to any school Ranma had attended in the past. The grounds had a great deal of similarity to a city park, with a wide brick road leading in from the entrance gateway. Along both sides of the road were dozens of tall trees, behind which were two carefully manicured lawns. Partway into the campus was small grove of trees, in the center of which was a stone statue of a woman wearing a hooded robe.

Genma led Ranma past a group of ginko trees and directly to a large building of Western-style architecture. It was two stories tall, with a central building which displayed a large clock on its face, and two long wings stretching out to the left and to the right. Numerous expansive rectangular windows lined the walls around the entire structure.

Once inside, Genma slowed down to a fast walk. With the help of a few signs, he led Ranma to the main office. Along the way, they passed several girls, all wearing black sailor uniform dresses with pleated skirts and white collars. The girls all turned to look at Ranma and Genma as they walked past. It wasn't only the martial arts keikogis they wore, although those alone would have had them standing out like proverbial sore thumbs. Both of them also carried the large packs containing all of their traveling equipment and supplies which they had used throughout the years of training to survive in the wilderness.

Genma pushed open the door to the main office. He looked at the administrator sitting in the front desk and said, "Good afternoon. I'd like to speak to the headmistress of the school."

"About what would you like to speak with her?" the administrator asked. She was a middle-aged woman with a narrow face. She wore a yellow buttoned shirt and a black jacket.

"I'd like to enroll my daughter in this school," Genma said. He beckoned to Ranma, who stepped forward. Genma then took her by the shoulders and pulled her forward to stand in front of him.

The administrator looked up at Genma, then down at Ranma, then back up at him again. She asked, "Here? Are you sure?"

"Yes," Genma said, nodding twice.

The administrator took one more penetrating look at Ranma. She then said, "I understand. Please wait here." She stood up and walked to one of the back offices. Although the door was open she knocked anyway, and then she stepped inside.

Genma leaned down and whispered to Ranma, "Just stay quiet and let me do the talking."

Ranma nodded.

With nothing else to do, Ranma took a look around the room. It was a fairly standard office. Small stacks of paper littered the surfaces of the all the various tables. The most distinctive feature of the room was the Christian sculptures and art scattered around it. Most notable was a large painting on a side wall featuring three men, a woman, and a baby, each surrounded by a golden aura.

The click of high heels tapping on the ground from the far door caught Ranma's attention, and she turned back as the administrator re-emerged from the back office.

"The headmistress will see you now," the administrator said, and she gestured with her hands as if to show them the way in.

"Thank you," Genma said with a slight bow. He walked past the administrator, Ranma once again following behind him.

The inner room broke with the theme of being a professional office. While the back half of the room did look similar to the main room they had just left, with a substantial desk covered with papers, the front half looked closer in style to being a living room. There were two modest sofas with a coffee table between them. Placed in the center of that table was a vase of white lilies. There was a small statue of a woman with a flowing hooded robe on another table to the side of the room. Beside that statue was another vase, this one with some roses. On the other side of the room was a blackboard upon which was written a large table of names and days, and across the top of which was written, "Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. -Thessalonians 5:21-22"

The headmistress herself was a women closer to being elderly than middle-aged, as seen by the numerous wrinkles on her face that were in the process of becoming defined creases. She wore a black tunic, a white collar, a white coif, and a black veil. Her bearing was one that spoke of kindly acceptance as well as resigned discipline.

"Gokigenyou." The headmistress's polite and formal greeting sounded strange to Ranma, like giving somebody a gilded and embossed invitation to a casual afternoon sparring session. "I heard that you were interested in enrolling your daughter in Lillian, Mr..."

"Sugita. Kaito Sugita," Genma said fluidly. He gave a slight bow of his head. "Yes, that is correct. I would like to enroll my daughter here."

Ranma felt the weight of judgment upon her as the woman looked her over.

The headmistress focused her gaze for a few seconds and then turned back to Genma. She said, "Forgive me for saying so, but we don't typically accept persons such as yourselves. Why would you like for her to attend?"

"I understand," Genma said. The hint of plaintive emotion entered his voice as he continued, "That's exactly why I came here. You see, Ran..ko..chan's mother died when she was very young. Just a baby, really."

The jolt of surprise lanced through Ranma, and she whipped her head up and around to look at Genma in response. She had had no idea her mother was dead. She had never heard that before. For that matter, she hadn't even known that she had had a mother at all. Intellectually she knew she must have, but she had never really thought about it before. Somehow over the years, the topic had simply never come up. The sudden realization of the absence left her feeling strange, as if somebody had just pointed out she had a birthmark on her arm that she had never noticed before.

"I'm sorry," The headmistress said quietly. She tapped her right hand to her forehead, chest, left shoulder, and right shoulder. She then clutched it with her left hand in front of her.

"Her dying wish was that Ranko-chan grow up to be a proper lady. But I'm just a martial artist. I tried my best, but... well... see?" Genma asked. He used his arms to gesture at Ranma from head to foot.

Ranma wasn't really paying attention to him, though. She was more preoccupied with the declaration that her mother was dead. She wasn't sure how to take it. It was like hearing that she would never in her life be able to visit France. She had never really thought about it before, let alone cared about it. Nevertheless, hearing that she would never even have the chance to know her mother left her feeling like she was somehow missing out on something, or at least that she should be feeling that way. It was very confusing.

"You see?" Genma repeated. "I'm just not qualified. I've asked around, and this is the best place to learn about this kind of thing."

The headmistress blinked in response. She looked down at her hands, still clutched in front of her chest. She then said, "I see. As you know, we are a very exclusive private school. We began in Meiji 34 as an academy for young women of nobility. We continue that proud tradition to this day as a prestigious Catholic school dedicated to Maria-sama for young ladies. Her grace is such that she would never turn away a person in need. We shall find a place for your daughter here."

"Thank you," Genma said, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Of course, there is the matter of tuition," the headmistress said.

"Naturally," Genma said. "Who should I make the check out to?"

Ranma half-ignored their discussion, instead thinking about the declaration that her mother was dead. She eventually came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter to her. If she never went to France, then she never went to France. It might have been different if her mother had actually appeared in her life, much like how suddenly waking up one day in a French park would definitely have been most consequential. However, the mere realization of the absence in and of itself didn't make a previously inconsequential idea important.

The headmistress and Genma came to some agreement about the tuition, as he scribbled something on a small sheet of paper and handed it over to her. She looked it over and then looked back up at Genma. She said, "I believe that everything is in order. You will be able to buy uniforms at several nearby clothing stores." She then turned to Ranma. "Please return here tomorrow morning at 8:00. I will introduce you to your teacher then. Welcome to Lillian Private Girls' School. Gokigenyou." The parting phrase sounded as just as excessively polite and formal as it had felt as a greeting.

"Until next time."

Genma led Ranma out of the office, out of the building, and eventually out of the campus. They then made their way to a nearby clothing store.

At the store, Genma explained to the shopkeeper that they needed to get some uniforms, and indeed some clothing in general, for Ranma. The shopkeeper looked skeptical, but still helped measure her. The man then went to a back room and returned forward with two sailor dresses. They had long sleeves and, excepting the white collar and cuffs, were made of a thick cloth which was dark to the point of being practically black. The shopkeeper left them on a table and went to the back room once again. When he returned the second time, he was carrying two sets of gym uniforms, a jacket, and a book bag. He left those on a table next to the sailor dresses and went back a third time. This time he brought with him three pairs of shoes. This was repeated one more time, with the shopkeeper bringing forward a small stack of neckerchiefs, socks, and underwear. The pile of clothes added up to be a rather large and heavy mass.

Genma handed over another small sheet of paper to the man. Genma then left the store, Ranma following behind him while carrying all of the clothes she now owned in a large bag.

Once they were safely on the street and several blocks away, Genma turned to Ranma and said, "That went well. In the future, you'll need to be able to do stuff like that by yourself. Now you'll have two, maybe three, weeks to complete your training. You'll need to be done before then. Remember: You're on a timer here, and you'll only have one shot at this."

"Yeah, I got it. That's step one done. Easy. What's next?" Ranma asked. For all of Genma's bluster, it seemed like this training would be simple. She hadn't even needed to really do anything so far. That in no way diminished her eagerness to advance, though.

"Yes. Good. Now..." Genma said, slowing down and leaning forward to Ranma. She didn't take the bait this time and remained on guard for a splash of water to her face or worse. "Now... let's go find a place to stay."

"What? I meant what's the next step of the training?" Ranma all but shouted. She had been prepared to advance to step two, or at least to be attacked in some fashion. The banality of Genma's declaration had been anticlimactic to say the least. She felt like she was being toyed with.

"Shh..." Genma said, waving his hands for Ranma to quiet down. "I know what you're thinking, but it's what I said earlier. The first thing you need to do is to infiltrate the school. I know you've been enrolled, but you need to actually get into it. You must be completely ordinary in your appearance and behavior. You need to blend in and become invisible to them, like a tree in the forest. Do that first. Once you've achieved that, I'll tell you the second step. If you know what that is now, it'll just mess you up."

It irked Ranma, but she could see the reasoning. Learning how to throw before learning how to grab was just pointless. Worse, trying to learn how to punch without knowing how to first make a fist was just asking get a broken thumb. Everything had a proper order. She had been through enough forms of training that she could accept the reasoning, even if she didn't like it.

"Fine, but this had better be worth it," Ranma said.

"It will be. Now let's go find a place to stay," Genma said, resuming their trip down the street.

The two of them moved at a light jog. As they went, Ranma occasionally looked backwards. She would need to retrace their steps the following morning, and seeing the landmarks from the appropriate perspective would help a great deal for that. The periodic check also helped to spot if anybody was setting up an ambush for them. It was something she had gotten very used to doing after the Amazon village incident at the end of her training trip in China. Now that she was back in Japan, that particular threat would no longer be an issue, but the habit was still a good one to keep, just in case.

They passed a park, but Genma kept leading them onward. Past a few more streets, they came across what looked like a large Shinto temple. Tori gates stood in the front, and there was what appeared to be a small forest behind it. It would have been the perfect place to hide out, but despite that, Genma kept walking. At the end of the temple, they took a right and crossed a bridge. A few streets later, there was a big sign advertising some sports drink. They took a left there and continued past more streets. They eventually came across what appeared to be a smaller Buddhist temple. This one must have suited Genma better, as he slowed to a stop and took a look around for any spectators.

Ranma had traveled enough with Genma to know what would happen next. He hopped over some bushes and behind some trees. Ranma checked for any observers as well, and upon confirming there were none, followed right behind him. Meals would be cold while they stayed here; they couldn't risk a fire and drawing attention to themselves. Martial arts practice would need to be conducted several blocks away for the same reason. For all the benefits of camping out in a city, there were definite drawbacks, too.

Also, as expected, Ranma ended up doing most of the camp setup while Genma wandered off to do whatever he did. He claimed he was searching for water, food, and other supplies. Ranma always suspected it was just Genma being lazy. Regardless, it fell to Ranma to set up their tent. She also laid out the bedrolls and unpacked the basic supplies which were to be used on a regular basis. By the time she had the camp in a state she considered properly set up, the sun was on the decline.

They had some jerky and dry cereal for dinner. After that, Genma led Ranma out of the camp and towards a nearby river. Along the way they stopped by a convenience store, so Ranma was able to acquire some hot water to transform.

Once they reached the river, the pair commenced their vigorous martial arts practice. Even after the sun had set, they continued their fight, using the dim illumination of the streetlights lining the near and far side of the riverbanks to continue their practice.

It was near midnight when they made their way back to the camp. Ranma was glad he had set up everything earlier. He was exhausted and was glad that he could just collapse onto his bedroll when he returned.

Minutes later, he was asleep.

* * *

Last Updated: February 28, 2021


	2. New Class

Chapter 2: New Class

"I have to wear that?" Ranma asked.

The "that" in this case was a bra, a slip, and a black sailor dress with a white collar and white cuffs. The creases on the dress's pleats were pressed with such precision that they could have been used for Martial Arts Cartography.

"Quit your whining. You sound like a girl," Genma said. He sounded angry, although he still kept his voice quiet. They were trying to keep their camp hidden. "Of course you got to wear that. You're supposed to be blending in. You saw what everybody was wearing yesterday, didn't you?" He held his hand against his forehead and tilted his head back in a melodramatic pose. "Oh, what a failure of a father I am. My own son, scared of some clothes."

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma said, scoffing at Genma's obvious manipulation. She understood the concept of dressing the part. It had been drilled into her enough times in Kondou's ninjutsu training. The key to a successful disguise was to be exactly as people expected you to be.

That was in the abstract, though. In terms of particulars, while Ranma had learned a great number of specific ninjutsu techniques, especially in regard to combat, they had left shortly before Kondou began teaching the details about how different people acted. In hindsight, it might have been better if they had stayed a few more weeks, although Genma had been very insistent that night that they leave immediately, so it was hard to say for sure.

Ranma picked up the bra and held it as if it were a particularly strange animal she had accidentally caught and was now trying to determine how to cook. She asked, "But what should I do if I get splashed?"

"Just don't get splashed," Genma said, resuming a more normal stance.

Ranma just threw the remainder of the cold water in her canteen at Genma, who promptly transformed into a panda.

Genma responded by holding up a sign which read, "Then you run away, or hide, or whatever. Improvise. This is your challenge." He flipped the sign over. The back of it read, "I never said that this training would be easy."

"The things I do for martial arts," Ranma muttered to herself.

It wasn't the first time she had had to dress up for training. This whole exercise was reminiscent of when she had learned how to use the naginata in Kyoto. Fukuyama had required her to wear a female kimono and learn several skills seemingly unrelated to the weapon itself. That was despite the fact that she had been male at the time. Later, when she had learned the katana with Ootsuka, she had been forced to wear a kimono as well, albeit a male one that time. In the end, it was just some clothes. It wasn't something drastic, like a corset made of iron, and even that she might have considered wearing if the technique was intriguing enough.

Ranma turned the bra back and forth in her hands, experimented with the hooks and eyes at the end of the wings, and generally tried to figure out how the thing was supposed to work. She then slid her arms into the straps and then fumbled around her back, trying to grab the ends. She wasn't able to locate them, though. She ended up needing to grab the wings at her sides. Then she was able to slide her hands backwards, following the cloth until she reached the ends. Once she had those in hand, she tried to hook the two pieces together. The two ends slipped past each other with no effect. She tried a second time, but the two pieces once again slid past each other without catching.

"Need help, boy?" Genma held up a sign. Ranma shot him a dirty look and then went back focusing on the contraption in her hands.

Frustrated, she took the bra off. She held it in front of her and tried hooking it there again. It was just as easy as the first time she had done it. She then slid her arms back into the straps and tried for a third time. This time she met with immediate success, although the connection felt tentative and unbalanced. She then realized that only one of the two hooks had caught an eye. She tried to hook the other, and the first one disconnected in the process.

Ranma was growling softly to herself by the time she managed to get the thing stable and set around her chest.

She next picked up the slip. She had to flip it back and forth twice before she could figure out which side was the front. After she had done so, she was able to put it on by treating it like it was a particularly thin and flimsy shirt. Her technique worked, once she had managed to separate the two spaghetti straps and maneuver her head between them.

In contrast to the insubstantial slip, the sailor dress was large and weighty, like a lake of fabric in her hands. Still, Ranma approached it the same way, trying to put it on as if it were an unreasonably large shirt. It proved to be much more of a challenge, though, and she got lost on the way to the figurative surface. As best she could tell, her head got stuck trying to emerge through one of the sleeves. She pulled her head back in and sought another opening, but the preposterous length of cloth above her got tangled up and forced her to abandon the overall attempt. She pulled the dress off and then held it out in front of her in order reset the whole thing. Once everything was straight again, Ranma started over. She tried to pull the dress on a second time, this time being careful to track the location of the neck hole as she moved. She was more successful with this attempt and completed her effort with a quick contortion to pull the zipper closed.

As much trouble as it had been to don everything she had worn so far, Ranma had at least had a conceptual understanding of what she had needed to do to put them on. That was an advantage she lacked with the neckerchief.

"Do you know how this thing works?" She dangled the limp piece of cloth out towards Genma.

Genma shook his head back.

"Whatever," Ranma said. She wrapped the thing under her collar and tied the ends of it in front of her in a bow.

"How does this look?" Ranma asked, holding her arms out in presentation to Genma.

Genma was holding a sign which read, "You'd better go. You're late."

"What do you mean I'm late... I'm late!" Ranma exclaimed quietly. She tugged on her white socks and ballet-style shoes, snatched her book bag, and then jumped out of the small campground. Behind her, she could hear the guttural, panda laughter of Genma as it quickly faded into the distance.

Ranma sprinted through the streets, fuming at the impracticality of girl's clothing as she went. If she could have just worn her keikogi, she would have been able to leave minutes ago.

She followed the path she had taken the day before with Genma, only in reverse this time. Things looked different, going in this opposite direction, but the glimpses she had taken on her trip away from Lillian the day before assured her that she was on the right track. She was further reassured she was headed in the right direction by the occasional appearance of girls in sailor dresses similar to hers. Unlike her rapid running, the girls she passed were all walking in a much more sedate pace, which made sense, given they weren't supposed to arrive early to meet their new teacher.

The sounds of girls greeting each other came from here and there as Ranma hurried under the tall gate at the front of the Lillian school grounds. She ignored them, instead focusing on reaching the Western-style building and her destination therein.

Once she reached the main office, she pushed open the door and entered it. A look at the clock on the wall proved that she had barely made it in time.

The headmistress was standing at the side of the room. She was talking to a young woman, but she looked up at Ranma's intrusion.

"Gokigenyou," the headmistress said. "I appreciate your punctuality and your sense of urgency, although I would recommend you leave earlier next time such that you do not need to rush so much to be on time." She gestured to the woman beside her. "This is Tanezaki-sensei. She will be your homeroom teacher." She turned to the woman and said, "This is Ranko Sugita-san, the new transfer student I was telling you about. I will leave her in your care."

The name bounced off of Ranma's consciousness until she remembered the introduction that Genma had given the day before. She would need to remember to listen for that name.

"Thank you," Tanezaki said with a slight bow. She was thin, with long black hair, a white blouse, and a dark blue pencil skirt.

Tanezaki walked away from the headmistress and towards Ranma. As she approached, she pulled out a handkerchief. When she got close enough to do so, she handed it over to Ranma and said, "You may want to dry yourself a bit. It's very important for students of Lillian Private Girls' School to always be modest. You should walk gracefully as to not disturb the pleats of your skirt or stain the white of your collar."

"Okay," Ranma said, biting back the more direct response on the tip of her tongue. Two weeks. She only had to blend in for two weeks. No, less than that, she was sure. When it came to martial arts, and especially learning new techniques, nobody was better than she was. The main question was how quickly would Genma let her progress.

Nevertheless, Ranma took the offered handkerchief and used it to dry off of her face and neck. The run had been short, but she had pushed herself hard for its duration, and it felt good to wipe off the light sheen of sweat she had developed. She then handed the used handkerchief back to Tanezaki.

"If you would please follow me, I will give you a brief tour of the school," Tanezaki said. She then led Ranma out of the office.

They passed by a scattering of girls in the hallway as Tanezaki showed Ranma around the area. Tanezaki pointed out various rooms of importance as they passed by them, such as the teachers' office, the cafeteria, and the various restrooms. They made their way outside, where she showed Ranma the way to the chapel, the primary gym, the sports field, the greenhouse, and the Rose Mansion. They then returned back inside, where Tanezaki pointed out the cabinet which had been assigned to Ranma.

Ranma took a moment to change her shoes.

"Finally, your classroom is on the second floor. It's this way. You'll be in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group. When we get there, I'll say a few words to the class, and then you can introduce yourself. Say whatever you'd like. Maybe say why you're transferring in to Lillian, or what types of hobbies you enjoy doing," Tanezaki said.

Tanezaki's statement shot through Ranma, triggering a brief moment of concern. It brought with it the reminder of what Genma had said the day before: Ranma had been enrolled to Lillian, but she had not actually been admitted into Lillian. For some reason, she had thought just meeting the teacher would have been the end of it. She hadn't put any thought into what would happen afterward. It was only at Tanezaki's mentioning of giving an introduction that Ranma realized her oversight, and she immediately focused herself on addressing this novel problem which had just presented itself.

"Okay," Ranma said. Long-term planning had never been a particular strength of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, instead preferring to use quick thinking and supreme adaptability to handle any eventuality. That applied to countering an incoming punch from an opponent, avoiding an angry shopkeeper on the search, or giving an introduction to a new class which would be as unnoticed as a tree in a forest.

Normally Ranma was a fairly private person who rarely liked to say anything about herself. The numerous times she had transfered in to a new school, she had always basically said nothing at her class introduction, which had the advantage of causing others to underestimate her. However, that was normally, and here she had to blend in. That meant she would need to come up with something to say to the class that would avoid standing out.

"You should also consider joining an after-school club. None of them are actively recruiting right now, but I'm sure most of them would be open to getting a new member. It's an excellent way to make some new friends," Tanezaki said as they walked up a flight of stairs.

"Okay," Ranma said, only half paying attention to what Tanezaki was saying. She was instead trying to think of what kind of introduction she could give. The obvious answer was to give an introduction like an ordinary girl would, but that answer was as useless as it was obvious as she wasn't sure what that was. Ranma had only ever seen one girl transfer in to a class before. That girl had given an energetic introduction and had told everybody some of her hobbies and interests, which lined up with what Tanezaki had suggested, implying that that was a good path to take. However, that led directly to the question of what ordinary girls liked to do.

It would have been so much easier if she had had a few more weeks of training with Kondou.

"I'm the advisor to the choir myself, and we'd be happy to have you join, if you're interested. Besides that, Lillian has a large number of other clubs, like photography, inventions, dancing, and newspaper. What types of things do you enjoy doing?"

"Okay," Ranma said absentmindedly. Without training, Ranma would need to improvise from her personal experiences. The problem was she didn't have that much to work with. She hadn't really known that many people in her travels, and almost all of them had been related to fighting in some way or another. She couldn't remember the last non-fighter she had really interacted with, girl or boy. Regardless, she trawled through her memory, trying to dredge up the details she had seen directly and the fragments Genma had alluded to over the years in his references and insults.

"I see," Tanezaki said. She remained quiet for the rest of the walk.

Ranma was still thinking about what ordinary girls enjoyed when they came to a stop.

"This is the classroom," Tanezaki said. She gestured towards a sign mounted high to the side of the door. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Ranma said with a nod. She had had a whole minute to prepare. She was more than ready.

Tanezaki opened the door and entered. Ranma followed behind her. At their entrance, a tan girl with glasses and a short ponytail announced, "Stand. Bow."

Ranma could see, and almost feel, the eyes of the all girls upon her as she walked in. It was the same in every school she had ever transferred into. New students were an unusual event, and the novel change they represented was always the focus of curiosity and more.

"Gokigenyou," Tanezaki said. "Today I have the pleasure of introducing a new classmate. This is Ranko Sugita-san." She wrote the name on the blackboard. "She will be joining us in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group. She lost her mother when she was very young, and she was raised by her father. I hope you can all help her make herself at home here. Would you like to say anything, Sugita-san?"

And suddenly, Ranma was on.

Despite the nervousness she felt, she put on a bright and perky smile. It was a lesson which had been hammered into her countless times over the years: Never show fear. Never show pain. No matter what she actually felt, always outwardly exhibit a confidence strong enough to be weaponized. Any exposed weakness could and would be exploited.

"Hello. I'm Ranko Sugita. I like cooking, and cleaning, and clothes. Teeheehee."

The class stared at her in silence.

Ranma inwardly crowed at her introduction. It had been perfect.

Tanezaki cleared her throat and said, "Thank you very much, Sugita-san. Over here is Ami Waki-san." The girl who had announced their entrance nodded in response. "She is the class representative. You can ask her for any assistance you may need.

"Yoshino Sumazu-san..." a frail-appearing girl with thick eyelashes nodded. Her black hair was tied into two long braids which draped from both sides of her head. "... is Rosa Foetida en bouton petite soeur. I'm sure she would be happy to assist you as well.

"Now there is a free seat near Nao Hanamori-san. Can you please raise your hand?" A girl with glasses and a ponytail raised her hand at Tanezaki's prompting. "Please take your seat there."

Ranma walked between the desks to the designated spot. The eyes of the class followed her as she went. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of interest in her chest for some reason, and their stares continued as she sat down. They only came to an end when Tanezaki began her lessons, which forced everybody to direct their attention to the front of the room.

The morning classes were fine, if a bit confusing at times. Ranma had spent the majority of the past decade on the road walking, hiking, training, practicing, and otherwise being physically active. Discussions about how the body distributed oxygen to various organs and about the esoteric rules of comma usage in English simply hadn't been part of her daily life. While she tried to pay attention, it was like reading a mystery book by beginning in the middle of chapter eight. She struggled to understand what was going on, in regard to what the teacher was teaching.

In contrast, it was easy to understand what was going on with the students. It was the same as it had been in all of the schools Ranma had transfered into in the past, if possibly more voluminous than typical. Whenever the teacher turned her back, which was a not uncommon occurrence, one or another of them would send a curious glance towards Ranma. Ranma would meet them with a glance of her own, which would typically result in the girl hastily turning back to face the front of the room.

The signal for lunch was a blessed relief. Ranma's stomach had made its emptying status progressively known as classes continued, and she was eager to resolve that situation. She tried to get up out of her chair to do so, but before she could, she found a girl with short black hair standing in front of her desk. The girl said, "Gokigenyou, Ranko-san. What brought you to Lillian?"

A flash caught Ranma's attention, and she turned to her right to see its source. There was a girl with long bangs and glasses near the door pointing a camera towards her.

Her appearance was partially obscured by a second girl, who approached the side of Ranma's desk. She had long brown hair in a ponytail down the back of her head. She leaned in towards Ranma and asked, "How was it growing up without your mother?"

A third girl appeared on the other side of her desk. She had two long black braids similar to Yoshino's. She also leaned in and asked "What's your blood type?"

There was a flash as another picture was taken.

"Which school did you come from?"

"What type of food do you like?"

Ranma was surrounded, and it looked like more and more girls were approaching.

"Who's your favorite actor?"

"Which clubs are you interested in joining?"

The sound of a girl's cough floated through the air. The chatter surrounding Ranma's desk fell silent, and the cluster of girls around her turned and parted such that everybody could see the source of the interruption. It was Yoshino. Despite her demure appearance and the quietness of her cough, she had somehow managed to command the attention of the entire room.

"Remember, we're supposed be welcoming Ranko-san. I'm sure she would appreciate a more modest introduction to the class," Yoshino said. She directed a smile at the group.

"O..of course," one of the girls said. The girls surrounding Ranma's desk scattered away like baby spiders.

The casual deference to the frail-appearing Yoshino was astounding. Ranma wondered where it had come from. She was more used to everybody obeying the school boss, the strongest and toughest fighter who could beat up any challengers to his authority. This was similar to that, only completely different. The girls didn't seem to fear Yoshino as such, and Ranma was willing to bet that Yoshino couldn't run 100 meters without fainting, let alone beat somebody in a fight. It made her curious and intrigued by the interplay she had just witnessed. Was it possible that it was related to the martial arts techniques Genma had promised at the end of this special training?

"I hope you can forgive us. It's very exciting to have a new transfer student entering Lillian at any time, let alone so far into the school year," Yoshino said. "Please make yourself at home. If anybody continues to bother you, feel free to let me know. Gokigenyou."

"Okay," Ranma said. She wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but she did appreciate the chance to get up and stretch her legs.

Her stomach nagged at her as she did so.

Tanezaki had shown her the cafeteria in the morning, but she had shown Ranma a lot of places in the morning. Most likely Ranma could find it again, but she was worried that she might make a wrong turn on the way there. Past experience had proven to her how quickly things sold out in the fighting arena that was the school cafeteria, and she couldn't risk any delay. Any lost time would mean everything would be sold out before she arrived.

That was an easy problem to solve, though. The teacher had suggested asking either Yoshino or Ami for help if she needed it.

"Hey, Yoshino-san."

Several girls turned to look between Ranma and Yoshino. There was far more interest than Ranma would have considered warranted for such an ordinary action.

Yoshino didn't seem to take notice, though. She turned around to face Ranma again and asked, "Yes?"

"Can you remind me where the cafeteria is?" Ranma asked.

"I would be happy to. It's right this way."

Yoshino led Ranma out the door, moving with the grace that seemed to suffuse everything in Lillian. The hallways had several girls walking around, most of them moving in the same direction in which Yoshino was bringing Ranma.

Ranma mentally urged Yoshino to move faster. Despite the crowd, there was still plenty of room to navigate around them. However, Ranma didn't take any overt action to prompt her, as it seemed like everybody was walking in a similar sedate pace and she wasn't supposed to stand out.

She instead took the opportunity to ask the question which had been raised during Tanezaki's morning introductions. "What was that Rosa Fotada Bouton Soweru thing the teacher was saying about you earlier?" Ranma was familiar with what a class representative was, but had never heard of a "Rosa" position in any previous school.

"You mean the title 'Rosa Foetida en bouton petite soeur?'" Yoshino asked.

"Yeah, that. What's that?" Ranma asked.

"It means exactly what it sounds like. I'm the petite soeur of Rosa Foetida en bouton," Yoshino said. She led them down the stairs that Ranma had climbed up with Tanezaki in the morning.

"Okay, but what does that mean?" Ranma asked.

Yoshino stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to look at Ranma. She asked, "Do you know about the Yamayurikai and the soeur system in Lillian?"

Ranma was taken aback at Yoshino's sudden focus of attention. She persevered, though, and said, "Uhh... not really."

"I see," Yoshino said. She turned forward again and resumed walking. "Where to start? To begin with, the student council in Lillian is called the Yamayurikai. It has three officers. They're elected by the student body each year."

"Elected? That's kind of strange, isn't it?" Ranma asked. Most of the schools she had attended in the past had had some kind of competition or tournament to determine the student council.

"Is it?" Yoshino asked. She briefly glanced over to Ranma then directed her gaze forward once again. "How else would a student council be selected?"

"Lots of ways: tennis match, gambling contest, cooking competition, fighting tournament, fishing test. That sort of thing," Ranma said. She had no shortage of examples from her past. It really depended on what the school specialized in.

In that light, though, maybe an election wasn't that strange, as what was an election, if not a tournament? That meant that the martial arts Lillian specialized in had to be politics, popularity, or something else in that vein.

It all made sense. Genma must have targeted Lillian to try to shore up what he saw as a deficiency in her skill set. Interaction with other people had been relatively rare throughout her training trip, and it would be beneficial to have the chance to learn some new skills from a school of specialists.

Ranma made a mental note to keep an eye out for any examples she could learn from.

"Really?" Yoshino asked. She directed another gaze at Ranma, this one questioning, before turning her eyes forward again. "I had always assumed that most schools were like us. Regardless, the way we do it here in Lillian is by having an election each year. The top three candidates are selected to be the three officers of the Yamayurikai. We have Rosa Chinensis, the red rose; Rosa Gigantea, the white rose; and Rosa Foetida, the yellow rose. Combined, the three of them are referred to as 'The Three Roses.'"

"Okay," Ranma said with a nod. It was somewhat unusual to have three leaders rather than a single one, but that wasn't unheard of. A school of martial arts could have any number of masters. It also wouldn't have surprised Ranma if, behind the three titles and positions, really only one of them was the grandmaster in charge of everything. Or maybe there was another person above all three of them who was really the grandmaster. That would make sense, seeing how "Yamayurikai" sounded like a "Mountain Lily Council," but the three named masters all had roses for titles.

"The other thing you need to know about Lillian is that we use the soeur system here. An upperclassman will partner with a lowerclassman. This relationship is formalized when the upperclassman gives the lowerclassman her rosary." Yoshino pulled out a necklace she wore around her neck from where it was semi-hidden under her dress. It had dark green stones all along the cord and a cross for a pendant. "The upperclassman is the 'grande soeur,' which translates to 'big sister,' and will mentor and support for the lowerclassman. The lowerclassman is the 'petite soeur,' which translates to 'little sister,' and will assist the upperclassman. It's a very sacred bond.

"And that is probably as good a place as any to stop for now, because this is the cafeteria here," Yoshino said as she led Ranma through a doorway. "I can explain the rest to you later."

Inside was a large room which, if it was a cafeteria, was one unlike any Ranma had ever seen before. She had been to enough schools to know how things should have been. It should have been obvious that it was a cafeteria even before the door was opened, due to a loud clamoring coming from within. There should have been pandemonium as a large crowd jostled for food. Students should have been practically, and sometimes literally, fighting for the last piece of bread before they sold out.

Instead it was a scene of sedate serenity. Not a single shout could be heard. Along the side of the room were four small storefronts, each with a sign on high labeling what it sold. It was hard to tell for sure through the open windows and doors behind the counters, but they all appeared to be sharing a single communal kitchen.

In the middle of the room was a considerable number of large rectangular tables, around which numerous of girls sat, ate, and talked. The moderate buzz generated by dozens of concurrent conversations filled the air, but it was nothing like the raucous experiences she had always encountered in the cafeterias of her past schools.

"You can buy a meal ticket at the machine over there," Yoshino said. She gestured to the ticket dispenser near the corner of the room. "You then bring it to whichever counter you'd like to order from."

Ranma walked over to take a closer look, with Yoshino following right behind her. What she saw almost made her cry. The tickets were far more than she could afford. She looked down at the three coins she had, just to double check that she hadn't misremembered their denominations. She hadn't.

She could feel her stomach give a plaintive growl in protest.

Ranma turned around to face Yoshino and asked, "Do you have any snack vending machines around here?"

Yoshino blinked in response to Ranma's question. She recovered quickly, though, and said, "Yes, we do have some. They're over this way." She led Ranma back out of the cafeteria. As she walked, she asked, "In that case, would you like me to finish the rest of the explanation of why I have the title 'Rosa Foetida en bouton petite soeur?'"

"You mean there's more?" Ranma asked. She already felt overloaded from what Yoshino had already explained.

"Yes, but not that much more," Yoshino said.

"Sure," Ranma said. Learning more about the student council and how they operated was always a good thing to do in a school. Besides, her classmates had given her some odd looks when she had called out to Yoshino earlier, which made her wonder if there was some other custom she was violating and thereby drawing inappropriate attention to herself.

She just hoped that Yoshino was telling the truth and that she was almost done.

Yoshino nodded. She said, "That title is a combination of the Yamayurikai and the soeur system. As I said earlier, the three Rosa positions are officially elected each year. However, in practice, the tradition is for the petite soeur of each of The Three Roses to be elected to the position that her grande soeur held. They know how the Yamayurikai works, and the students already know them and hold them in high regard.

"Therefore, the petite soeurs of The Three Roses are called 'en bouton,' which translates to 'in budding.' That means that Rosa Foetida's petite soeur is referred to as 'Rosa Foetida en bouton.' That's Rei Hasekura. In turn, her petite soeur, that's me, is referred to as 'Rosa Foetida en bouton petite soeur.' That means that, unless something particularly unusual happens, Rei-sama will be Rosa Foetida next year. Following that, I will be Rosa Foetida in my third year."

"That all sounds way too complicated," Ranma said, shaking her head. She wondered why it couldn't be something nice and simple, like schools of martial arts. There were grandmasters, masters, students, and nobodies. Everybody had an easy to understand title and role.

"I admit that it can sound confusing at the start. However, once you see it in practice, it's pretty straightforward. Basically the Yamayurikai comprises the three rose families. Each family has one Rosa in the third-year, and the petite soeurs who are connected to her," Yoshino said. She drew to a stop. "And here are the vending machines."

Ranma's look inside the machines left her with mixed feelings. On the upside, they were filled with breads, chips, candies, and large amounts of just plain calories. There was practically a cornucopia of options. It was enough to cause her mouth to water in anticipation. On the downside, the prices were also high. At least they were cheaper than the cafeteria.

She looked at the three coins she held in her hand and at the options in front of her. She then scanned through the rows. The cheapest and most calorie-rich thing she could find were the instant noodles. 45 seconds later, she owned of lunch.

"Three?" Yoshino asked as Ranma pushed the button a third time.

Ranma shrugged back and picked up her last purchase. She would have gotten more if she could have, but that was all the money she had with her. She went ahead and opened the first cup.

"I see. Well, you can find some hot..."

Yoshino's statement was interrupted as Ranma took a big bite out of the first block of noodles. The crunchy texture and the salty seasoning tickled her mouth and filled the growing void she felt in her stomach. She tried her best to catch the stray falling noodles in the cup as she ate. She was loathed to waste anything.

It wasn't the best thing she had ever eaten, but it was far better than many of the things she had been forced to consume while hiking through the forest; frequently sauteed squirrel was considered the height of fine dining, and it was rare to be lucky enough to catch one rather than the less palatable options.

In a few seconds, Ranma had finished her first cup. She was in the process of opening the second one when she noticed Yoshino watching her with wide eyes. She paused and asked, "What?"

Yoshino blinked and said, "It's nothing. I've just not seen anybody eat with quite so much alacrity before. May I suggest having a seat somewhere to avoid causing too much of a mess?"

"Oh. Sure," Ranma said. She looked around and saw a nearby bench.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go. I must to eat my lunch as well, and I'm not quite as celeritous as you are. Gokigenyou," Yoshino said. She gave a nod of her head.

"Thanks," Ranma said as Yoshino walked away.

Ranma took a seat on the nearby bench. She then finished opening her second cup of instant noodles and ate it just as fast as the first. The third followed suit a minute later. While she was still somewhat hungry, she definitely felt better than she had at the start of the lunch break.

She made her way back to the classroom, checking the sign at the top of the door before walking in. Inside, approximately half of the girls were present and eating at their desks. Yoshino was one of them.

Ranma took her seat and relaxed for a few minutes before the classes resumed.

Afternoon classes proceeded very much like the morning ones had, up until everybody stood up and left the room. It was at that point that, much like in the morning when Tanezaki had mentioned that Ranma would need to give an introduction, the full implications of the classes Ranma was taking struck her.

They were going to PE class.

The abrupt realization brought with it a stab of worry, although Ranma made sure she gave no outward sign of it.

PE class meant that she would need to change clothes along with the others in the changing room. That was an intimidating prospect. It wasn't so much the fact that girls would be changing around her; the past few weeks as a part-time girl had eliminated most of the exotic mystique of the female body. The bigger issue was that she would need to blend in with all the others. The curse may have been an almost perfect disguise for her physical state, but it didn't help nearly as much with her behaviors. She was left with the challenge of trying to imitate how girls acted in a changing room, and she had absolutely no idea how they actually did act in a changing room.

With no other options, Ranma had to fall back on her standard answer to everything: improvise.

She slowly walked into the changing room, making sure she was neither the first nor the last person to enter. As she did so, she surreptitiously kept an eye on what the other girls were doing. Most of them walked towards what appeared to be a random locker, so Ranma did the same, picking one towards the middle of the row of them. As she maneuvered around the room, she subtly edged away from the showers and all the other sources of hot water she could see.

Once at the locker, Ranma cast another hopefully unnoticed glance around the room. Most of the girls had turned to face either a locker or a wall before taking off her dress. They were determinedly focused on themselves as they tried to change her clothes as quickly as possible, although she noticed several of them examining her just as surreptitiously as she was examining them.

Ranma tried to mimic them. She turned to face a locker, pulled off her sailor uniform, and pulled on her gym uniform as fast as she could. As she changed, she noticed out of the corner of her eyes that the glances in her direction became both more numerous and more overt. There seemed to be a particular interest in her chest or arms for some reason, although her legs drew some attention as well. Nobody outright confronted her, though, so she considered the exercise a success.

She was still reflecting on the need to not stand out as she, along with the others in the class, walked into the gym. That's when the next realization hit her, more depressing than worrisome in this case. She would need to hold herself back to match everybody else. It transformed the idea of PE class from a welcome change in activity to a particularly egregious exercise in tedium.

The class was beginning a segment on volleyball, and the teacher had them split up into pairs. Ami approached Ranma, and the two of them found an open section of the gym. They then spent the period throwing a ball back and forth, both trying to bump it up in return. Having learned Martial Arts Beach Volleyball years earlier, it was all too familiar to Ranma. She could have literally done it blindfolded. Still, she needed to fit in with the others, so she tried to calibrate her own abilities to match their lack of skill. It meant that she and Ami spent more time chasing down stray balls from mis-returned bumps than actually practicing.

Ranma was finding it hard to even pretend to be interested in what she was doing. In the morning classes, she hadn't actually know what was being taught, so even if she was confused by the lack of context, she could still try to learn something new. In contrast, the volleyball practice was as if she had been asked to go back and learn how to add two numbers together all over again. To say it was tedious and boring would be an understatement. She couldn't even properly ignore everything going on around her and daydream, considering how she had to constantly interact with Ami while concurrently overriding her reflexes in order to mask her abilities.

After what felt like too long, the teacher called class to an end. Ranma returned to the changing room with the others. It was with some relief that she noticed that none of the girls tried to take a shower. If that had been part of the regular ritual everybody did, she wasn't sure what she would have done.

The changing of clothes back to the regular Lillian sailor uniform was very much like changing into the gym uniform had been, only in reverse and more extreme. Pretty much everybody in the class had taken at least a fleeting glance in her direction. That was definitely a concern, and she stood on guard, ready to defend herself from a potential attack.

That guard made the already unfamiliar task of putting on the sailor dress that much more complicated. She managed to do it more smoothly than she had in the morning, but only just. It still took her two attempts before she was able to put the uniform on without getting tangled up in the long collar.

After they had all changed, everybody returned back to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom for the remainder of the afternoon classes, which concluded without note.

The moment classes ended, Ranma practically jumped to her feet. She was not going to be boxed in again by numerous girls asking questions again, as had happened at lunch. She said a quick, "Bye," and headed for the exit.

"Ranko-san."

Ranma hadn't even realize that she was the person being called out to until she had already turned the corner. By that point she figured it was too much of a bother to return, and she just kept going. If it was important, they would call out to her again.

They didn't.

Strangely, she seemed to be the only person leaving Lillian. There were several groups walking through the hallways, but by the time she got to the shoe changing area, she was alone. That solitary existence continued as she walked out the doors and into the bright afternoon sunlight. As best she could tell, she was the only person on the campus grounds at all. She pondered that oddity as she made her way past the rows of trees, bushes, and hedges to the front gate of the school. However, she had failed to draw any real conclusions before reaching the edge of the campus, so she filed the phenomenon away for future consideration as she began walking along the streets of Tokyo.

The trip back to camp was slower than the morning sprint had been. Ranma was quite aware that there was a good chance that Genma would ambush her the moment she arrived. It wasn't every day, but it happened often enough and erratically enough that she always had to remain on guard for the possibility. She saved her energy for that not-really surprise attack.

When she reached the temple, Ranma slowed down and took a more careful look around, trying to see if there were any witnesses which might expose the campsite. When none appeared present, she quickly hopped over the bushes and into the small clearing she had set up the day before.

Inside, she saw Genma. He immediately flung a bundle at her, which she deftly dodged.

"Put that on," Genma said.

Ranma looked down where the bundle had landed. It was a keikogi.

Genma said, "We can't have you messing up that costume. Take it off and change into some real clothes." He threw a bottle at Ranma. "This, too. You'd better appreciate how much trouble it was to get that."

Ranma's uniform and undergarments were far easier to remove than they had been to put on. This was countered by the fact that Ranma had to carefully store the dress such that it wouldn't wrinkle, stain, or otherwise become blemished. She then threw on the keikogi. The finishing touch was the hot water, which triggered Ranma's transformation.

He emerged from the tent ready for a fight. Genma did not disappoint him, launching a nominally surprise attack, irrespective of the danger of exposing their presence. Ranma blocked it with his arms and sent a kick back in return, which in turn was blocked as well. The exchange was swift and quiet, ending in a draw. Once that had been determined, a brief armistice was established as they both sneaked out to a more safe neutral ground. They jogged several streets over, towards the river they had fought beside the night before.

Nearby there was a large green area, presumably a park of some kind. It had enough trees and open spaces to make it the perfect terrain within which to fight. There, the onslaught began in earnest.

They fought throughout the afternoon and evening. The only pause was when they broke for dinner. They both walked into a small convenience store to get it. Ranma distracted the shopkeeper while Genma slipped some things into his keikogi. They then walked out again and shared the rice balls and plastic-wrapped breads that Genma had taken. In this case, "shared" was defined as Genma trying to eat it all while Ranma tried to take whatever he could. The situation naturally favored Genma, but Ranma was able to steal a enough things through Genma's guard that he was in no danger of starving.

As they ate, Genma asked, "How was your attempt at infiltrating the school, boy?"

Ranma thought back on how the day had gone. He was concerned at the amount of attention he had received before and after gym class, but nobody had raised an alarm, so it must have been nothing. Indeed, the only questions he had been subjected to were the generic ones at lunchtime, and even those had been deflected with Yoshino's help. A touch of pride tinged his voice as he said, "It went great. Nobody suspects a thing."

Genma nodded. He said, "Good. Very good. In that case, maybe it would be safe to tell you the next step. Time is short here, after all."

"Yeah," Ranma said. As plain as the day had been, it had done nothing to diminish his enthusiasm in the techniques Genma had promised to teach him.

He had seen enough of Lillian to see the real potential of the martial arts they specialized in, whatever that turned out to be. There was the casual and inexplicable demonstration of power that Yoshino had shown at lunch, and there was the social and political aspects of Lillian which the Yamayurikai elections represented. Whatever this Umisenken was, it was very different than anything Ranma had learned in the past, and as such, was particularly intriguing.

"Okay. Then step two of the training."

Ranma perked his ears up and paid close attention.

"You need to make friends with a rich girl. It would be best if you could find Ogasawara, Kanina, or Torii," Genma said. As he spoke, he nodded his head again, slowly and solemnly this time.

"What?" Ranma asked. He didn't even bother trying to prevent it from coming out as a shout.

"I said, 'you need to make friends with a rich girl.' Ogasawara, Kanina, or Torii would be best, but really, any girl would be fine. Just make sure she's rich. That shouldn't be too hard in a place like Lillian," Genma said. He cast an evaluating eye at Ranma as if to judge the effect of his words.

"Are you crazy? What does that have to do with martial arts?" Ranma asked. He had undergone exotic training in the past, but he could make no sense of what Genma had just told him to do. Ironically, that more encouraged him than dissuaded him. If past experience was anything to go by, seeing how inscrutable this training was, the end result really would live up to Genma's bombastic promises the day before.

"Don't question me, boy. Don't forget who is the master here. If you're going to learn these techniques, you'll need to follow my training exactly," Genma said. He tried to cuff Ranma on the head, but Ranma had maintained his guard throughout the break and easily blocked the strike. It proved to be a feint, though, as Genma used the distraction to reclaim one of the rice balls which Ranma had stolen earlier.

Ranma put any thoughts about Ogasawara, Kanina, Torii, and rich girls out of mind. Whatever the intentions of Genma's training were, they could wait until later when there were less pressing issues to contend with. He shouted, "Hey! Give that back!" and launched a counterattack on Genma's remaining stash of food.

The border raids came to an end once the final morsels of dinner had been finished on both sides. They were instead replaced by a series of escalating skirmishes, which quickly erupted into a full-scale battle across the streets, riverbank, and park. It lasted into the late evening before a hesitant armistice was reestablished.

It was once again near midnight when Ranma returned back to camp. He collapsed onto his cold bedroll and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Last Updated: February 28, 2021


	3. New Role

Chapter 3: New Role

Ranma splashed some cold water onto his face in an attempt to drive off his lingering sleepiness.

A morning spar would have been far more effective. However, a morning spar would also have been far more likely to draw undesired attention to their camp. Moreover, the cold water had the convenient effect of triggering Ranma's transformation, even if it didn't bring her to full wakefulness.

It was with bleary eyes that she went through what was to be her morning ritual for the next few days.

Despite the relative fogginess in her head, she had more luck dressing on this second day. It only took her three tries to get her bra in place, and she was able to don her sailor uniform without getting lost in a sleeve hole or tangled up with its large collar. It still took her far longer to dress than it should have, but it wasn't nearly as bad as her first attempt had been. The only thing which really stymied her was the neckerchief, and she resolved that by once again tying it into a generic bow.

After she had put on her socks and shoes, Ranma took a quick peek through the vegetation surrounding the camp to confirm there were no early morning spectators in the nearby area. She then hopped over the bushes and began her journey to Lillian. As she did so, she reflected on the next step of her training. She had mostly ignored it the previous night in favor of fighting Genma, but she was now free of that distraction and could consider her newest instruction in earnest. Genma had told her to befriend some rich girl, with Ogasawara, Kanina, or Torii being preferred. The question, though, was how to do that.

The obvious answer was to find one of the girls and challenge her to a duel. Based on all of her past experiences, that would work. She had lost count of the number of times when the boss of the school had fought her. After she invariably won, they would be friends. Or they would be eternal rivals. One or the other. Ranma had never figured out what made the difference, and therein was the problem. It was a risky option to say the least, and she wasn't quite ready to commit to that large a gamble when the deadline was still so far away. Regardless, she did note it as a potential last resort effort.

As she was thinking, Ranma passed through the front entrance of Lillian's campus. The wide path and rows of carefully planted trees made the area feel like an arcadian sanctuary in the middle of the concrete jungle that was Tokyo. That effect was reinforced by the susurrus of the wind through the leaves, masking the distant noise of Tokyo traffic. This could have been exact same scene from a century earlier. It had a certain timeless quality to it.

The second idea which occurred to Ranma was to follow Tanezaki's advice. Tanezaki had said that joining an after-school club would be a good way to make friends. She had particularly suggested that the choir would be happy to have Ranma join. There was no guarantee that Ogasawara, Kanina, or Torii would be a member of any club, choir or otherwise, but Genma had said that any rich girl would work. It was a definite possibility she would need to consider in more detail.

"Gokigenyou, Ranko-san," a girl said. It was far from a yell, but the voice still managed to carry across the distance.

A third option occurred to Ranma as well. The name Torii sounded familiar to her for some reason. She could have sworn she had heard it somewhere before. However, she had heard many names on her first day of class. If she had heard the name Torii specifically, it had become lost in the sea of memory. Maybe she was one of her classmates? Ranma wasn't sure. Regardless, now that she was primed to seek those three names out, she was sure she'd notice the next time she heard it. Once she did so, she could approach Torii directly and try a more targeted effort.

That option was good, as far as it went, but it didn't really go far enough. It still left open the question of how to actually befriend somebody. Even if she did find Torii, she had no idea what to do with her, outside of challenging her and defeating her in combat.

"Ranko-san," the same girl said again.

Ranma took attention to the second calling of that name. She still wasn't used to it, and it would take a while longer before it became a habitual mental highlight rather than merely something she consciously recognized as something she should respond to.

She stopped and looked around. Apparently somebody was trying to call for her.

It was hard to say who that person was. There were about 15 different girls in uniform around her. Most of them were on their own, but there were a couple of pairs, and a trio as well. All of them had stopped and turned to look. A couple of the pairs were talking to each other, hands raised to block their mouths from view.

"Ranko-san," Ranma heard a third time. This time she was able to spot the girl who was calling out to her.

The girl was elegant, to say the least. She stood about 25 centimeters taller than Ranma herself did, and the long dark hair which flowed freely down the back of her head was as luxurious as any model's. She moved with a grace befitting a ballerina or an expert martial artist. Her face had a look of aristocratic nobility tempered with just a touch of playfulness in her eyes.

Ranma had no idea who she was. The girl hadn't been in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group, though. Ranma was sure of it. Somebody that beautiful naturally stood out wherever she was.

"Yeah?" Ranma asked.

"It is most unseemly for a student of Lillian to be dressed like that," the girl said. Her voice had a refined tone and cadence to it.

Ranma mentally responded that she wasn't really a student of Lillian. However, Genma's admonition to blend in and infiltrate the school echoed in her head. She could already hear his derisive mocking that it hadn't even been three days yet and she had failed already, and her pride bristled at the imagined slight.

She was torn between her need to keep a low profile and her desire to retort. That internal conflict emerged as a question. She asked, "And who are you to say that?"

The girl's eyes widened fractionally. She said, "Of course. I apologize for my presumption." She gave a slight bow to Ranma. "I am Sachiko Ogasawara, Rosa Chinensis en bouton."

The name sprang to Ranma's attention. It was one of the names Genma had told her particularly to seek out. Suddenly Ranma felt good for having held back her impulse of outrage. It would have been terrible to start an argument with the very person she was supposed to befriend.

Unfortunately, that meant that she was now faced with the very real problem which up until just moments ago had only been a theoretical problem in regards to Torii. Ranma had one of her targets directly in front of her, and she had no idea what to do about it. It seemed like an opening, but it was one which she didn't know how to take advantage of without overextending herself.

Besides Sachiko's name, there was one other thing which caught Ranma's attention in Sachiko's introduction.

"Rosa Chininse Bouton? That's one of those student council things, right?" If that were the case, then that was very fortuitous. If Sachiko were indeed a part of the student council, it would make it easy to find her in the future. She was sure Tanezaki had pointing out the place that the student council met during her tour the day before. Ranma just needed to remember where that was. In the worst case, she could just ask somebody, too. It was far easier than trying to wander the whole school in search of a girl she had never met before with only a name to go by.

"That is correct," Sachiko said with a nod. "I'm part of the Yamayurikai. We were told that you would be transferring in and that we should assist your transition however we could."

"I see," Ranma said. She had mixed feelings about this encounter. Locating one of her potential targets so quickly, before classes had even started, felt good. Nevertheless, the fact that it had happened due to Sachiko approaching her was worrisome. That meant that Ranma stood out in some fashion, and that was a bad thing. She looked down at her uniform to see what had drawn Sachiko attention to her. However, she saw nothing wrong.

"So what's wrong with how I'm dressed?" Ranma asked.

"Your neckerchief," Sachiko said, guesting to Ranma's chest. "As charming as a bow is, it is not the correct way to tie it. It is important for your entire uniform to be worn properly, including the neckerchief as well."

Ranma looked around. All of the other girls had their neckerchiefs tied in a draping knot. It looked distinctly different from the large bow she had tied. It could have explained why so many people had been so fascinated with her chest the day before.

"Uhh... nobody ever told me what to do with it," Ranma said. Her hand reflexively reached up to scratch the back of her head is she spoke.

"I see. Hold this," Sachiko said. She held out her book bag to Ranma.

"Okay?" Ranma was confused, but she took her book bag anyway.

Sachiko stepped directly in front of Ranma and untied the bow. She then pulled the neckerchief off of Ranma's neck and held it in front of her on display.

"You hold it like this to find the center, and then fold it like this," Sachiko said. She reached around Ranma, both arms surrounding her in a loose hug. "Pull it upwards until it is lined up, and then draw it under the collar to the front here." She held up the two ends in front of Ranma. "Then you pull this end this way, pull this end over here, tuck this end here, and tighten. Done."

Ranma now had a draping knot in front her which matched everybody else's.

"Thanks," Ranma said. The knot had seemed simple enough to tie, but that wasn't the focus of her attention. She was instead focused on trying to think of a way to turn this brief incident into a friendship with Sachiko. This was a huge opening, and she was eager to exploit it, if only she could figure the appropriate technique to do so.

"You're welcome. Gokigenyou," Sachiko said. She took her book bag back from Ranma and turned away.

"Uhh... right." Ranma said. Unfortunately, her few seconds of thinking revealed no last-moment breakthrough. She resigned herself to the idea that this apparent opening that Sachiko had presented was actually a feint. She would need to let it pass and bide her time, waiting for a more practical opportunity.

Regardless, Ranma did take advantage of the meeting to memorize Sachiko's face. The Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts strongly preferred being reactive to proactive, but if nothing better presented itself in the next few days, she could always seize the initiative herself and go on the offense by issuing a challenge to Sachiko. In order to do that, though, Ranma would need to be able to recognize her.

With Sachiko's departure, the other girls around Ranma lost interest and also turned away, continuing their own trips to their respective classes. Ranma likewise continued on her way towards the building and the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom therein.

She was disappointed that she hadn't been able to complete her second task right there and then, but more than that, she felt relieved. Practically speaking, her situation had improved dramatically over the past few minutes. She had identified at least one specific target for her efforts. She had a name, a face, and a location. If it came to the point that she needed to use her last resort tactic, she was now in a position to be able to do so. The difference between having no options and having one option was immeasurably large, and Ranma felt good for having established one.

That was for another time, though. She still had several days to come up with a more reliable way to befriend Sachiko before she would need to resort to sending her a challenge. There were also the matter of those two other girls Genma had mentioned. It would be good to find them, too. Having an option was a solid start, but it was always good to have a backup and a backup backup.

Classes this second day were just as semi-inscrutable as they had been the day before. Having been the transfer student more times than she could remember, she knew it would take at least a few days to get enough of the background knowledge for the class subjects to start making sense. Until then, all Ranma could do was to try to drink from the proverbial fire hose of information.

She was distracted in her efforts to concentrate in class, though, by the question of how to actually make friends. She really didn't know how it worked. It seemed like the classmates in all the schools she went to always had their cliques and confidants, but Ranma had never really directly experienced that herself. Aside from the boys she had fought and defeated in the past, she had never actually had any friends.

There had to be a way to befriend somebody other than a duel, though. There were simply too many friendships and too few rivalries to account for all these relationships if dueling was the only way. However, Ranma had no idea what that other way was. From what she had observed as a disinterested outsider, it seemed like suddenly one day, K would be talking to U, or M would be giving T a present of some kind. All of that just sort of happened without any bruising, limping, or any other evidence of a fight.

The question of how it all worked nagged at Ranma. It was an obvious oversight in her training, which explained why Genma had chosen to focus on it as the second step of her special training. Identifying the problem didn't help that much in cracking the secret to the techniques, though. It was like saying the secret to Martial Arts Beekeeping was to use Martial Arts Beekeeping. While that was literally true, it was basically useless.

Between the classes and her puzzling over friendship, the morning passed by quickly. She was still in the process of speculating when the sounds of people shuffling around caught her attention. The unexpected bustling caused a brief moment of confusion and worry, but then she noticed the clock. It showed that somehow lunchtime had managed to sneak up on her. Her stomach quickly reminded her that it had been telling her the same thing for hours.

Ranma stood up and stretched her legs, glad to be in motion again. As she did so, Ami approached her and said, "Gokigenyou."

"Hello," Ranma said.

"I think you left right after classes yesterday, right?" Ami asked.

"Yeah. What of it?" Ranma asked, although she already knew what Ami was interested in. This was far from the first time she had had such a lunchtime confrontation. She had transferred schools enough times to know how things went. If the boss of the school was in Ranma's class, it would start on the very first day. If the boss was in a different class, though, it would take a day before word could spread and orders could be given. That meant that the boss's lieutenant would typically start pressuring Ranma on the second day.

Next would be the indirect allusions to supporting the group effort or helping those in need. It was all very silly. If they wanted to demand money, it would have been so much easier to directly say so. Then Ranma could directly deny the request, and they could quickly move on to the fight. It would have saved so much precious lunch time.

"I'm not sure where your last school was, but in Lillian, it is expected that everybody contribute to the class," Ami said, using the innocuous-sounding language which was so common.

Their conversation was now the center of attention of the entire room. Girls had paused in their sliding of desks together and their unwrapping of lunch boxes. Everybody was undoubtedly eager to see how Ranma would answer.

"And what form would this contribution take?" Ranma asked. Concurrently, she tensed herself and prepared for the upcoming fight that would occur when it became clear that she would not quietly submit. Ami didn't look like much of a fighter, but it was easy to hide skill, as Ranma herself did all the time. No matter how she looked at the situation, Ami had to have something, seeing how she was the boss's lieutenant who had been chosen to threaten Ranma.

"We have our daily cleaning assignments: wiping off the chalkboard, dusting the erasers, emptying the trash, washing the windows, and the like. There's lot of things to do, but if we all work together, we can get it done fast. Yesterday you mentioned you liked cleaning things, right?" Ami asked. She gave a tentative smile.

Ranma blinked in confusion. That had not been what she had expected to hear. Typically the confrontation would have some line about caring for those who were less fortunate, getting an insurance policy against unforeseen health problems, or something else clearly linked to money. "Wiping," "dusting," "emptying." If those were innuendo-laden verbs, Ranma failed to make the connection. She couldn't tell if she was being bullied or not, and the change of tact left her unsure how to respond.

She decided to take Ami's statements literally. Even if it was a shakedown, a misunderstood request would just force Ami to clarify what was going on. Even better, it had the possibility of annoying Ami, which could put her off-balance.

"Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" Ranma remained tense and on-guard, ready to jump back and possibly pull a desk over with her foot to serve as an impromptu obstacle.

"Then you should quite enjoy this. I believe you are scheduled to vacuum the floors today," Ami said. She walked over to a notebook at the back of the classroom and opened it up. "Yes, it appears that you are."

Whatever was happening, it did not appear to be a demand for money. The failure to follow the typical script for new students left Ranma confused. With no other ideas how to respond, Ranma asked the obvious question. "Umm... What's a vacuum?"

"What's a..." Ami asked, blinked, and then stopped herself. "I see. You poor thing. It must have been hard to grow up without a mother. I'll show you after class today."

Ranma didn't know what to make of the exchange she had just shared with Ami. Was she being picked on, albeit the girl version of it? If so, then who was she expected to fight in response to it? If not, then what was Ami driving at? If Ami's words were to be taken at face value, Ranma would find out what was going on when school ended, one way or another. That was good in that it gave her time to prepare. The only problem was that she had no idea what to prepare for.

Regardless, she did have something which was both more concrete and more pressing to attend to. It was lunch time.

Ranma made her way out of the classroom to the snack vending machines. Once there, she quickly bought some packs of instant noodles, and she ate them almost as quickly, picking up the dry blocks and biting into them like large and particularly crunchy biscuits. It was just faster, easier, and safer to eat the noodles that way. Aside the trouble of finding any hot water to cook them, there was also the unacceptable risk that being near hot water would bring with it.

The afternoon classes were as uneventful as the morning classes had been. She still had some trepidation upon approaching the changing room for PE class, but it was very much muted as compared to the day before. Even one day's worth of experience was infinitely better than going in completely blind, and both her changing of uniforms and the volleyball practice went without particular incident. That wasn't entirely good, though, as it meant that she spent another period in mind-numbing boredom as she bumped a ball back and forth with one of her classmates.

That meant that Ranma had plenty of time to think about what Ami had meant during their lunch time confrontation. She could come to no real conclusions, though, so figured she would just need to improvise when the time came. In a way, that was better. Improvisation and adaptability had always been the strongest aspects of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and when classes came to an end, she was primed to handle anything Ami might try.

To her surprise, things turned out to be exactly as Ami had said. It was the first time her welcoming reception's words were literally true. The class actually did work together to clean everything up.

The different girls assigned on the sheet teamed up and did the tasks to which they were assigned: cleaning the chalkboards, straightening the furniture, disposing the rubbish, and a number of unknown tasks outside the classroom. All of this without any threats or yelling of any kind.

It was surreal.

Throughout her life, whenever they stayed in a place long enough to do any cleaning, it was always Ranma on her own who did it. Genma's involvement would purely be in the form of verbal encouragement, which was to say he insulted, threatened, and yelled at her until she gave in and did it. That was the proper way of things, with the master ordering around the underling to do the actual work.

Not here, though. Despite being the class representative, Ami joined in herself. After she helped demonstrate how a vacuum cleaner worked to Ranma, and she walked off to smash some chalkboard erasers together out of an open window to clean them off.

The idea of everybody working together just felt weird.

If nothing else, it emphasized something which Ranma had already known. Between the class introduction, the neckerchief, the cafeteria, the changing room, the cleaning, and everything else, there were far too many things lingering around Lillian which were unknown to her. That was a problem, seeing how the first instruction Genma had given to her was to blend in. She couldn't do that unless she understood the environment into which she was to blend.

She was long overdue for some basic information gathering. In addition to helping her not draw attention to herself, getting more information from around the school could possibly give her a better idea of how the process of friendship worked. That would certainly help her in her mission of befriending a rich girl, be it Sachiko or somebody else.

The best way to learn more about Lillian and the girls who attended it was to observe them in action. With that in mind, Ranma began subtly following Ami as the class dispersed. As she was the class representative, it was hard to imagine somebody more appropriate from whom to acquire techniques.

Ami walked through the hallways, greeting a couple of girls in passing as she moved, and then went outside. That was as much a blessing as a curse. The vegetation throughout the area was meticulously planned and cultivated, which meant there were large regions without any obstructions along and between the paths around the campus. That made it easy to see and follow Ami, but it also meant that there were few places to hide in the event she turned around.

Ranma moved carefully, taking advantage of the long sight lines to keep her distance as she trailed behind. She wanted to be close enough to see what Ami did, but far enough away that an errant scuff or rustle wouldn't be noticed. That balance became easier to maintain as they neared the primary gym. Bangs, crashes, and other similar noises became progressively louder as they approached. The faint sound of girls calling out instructions joined the commotion once she got close enough to hear. It had the ambiance of a construction site of some kind or another.

Ami reached the building first and went in. In response, Ranma sped forward. There was far less chance of being detected now, and she wanted to minimize the amount of time Ami was out of sight. It took several seconds, but Ranma quickly reached the door as well. The gap in time was unfortunate, but it could work out for the best. Hopefully Ami would have moved away from the entrance so Ranma could enter unseen.

She quietly opened the door and entered.

Inside was definitely a scene of construction, but of what, Ranma couldn't tell.

Up on the stage to the side of the main room were several teams of girls building a variety of seemingly unrelated things. One team was hammering some several planks of wood together. Another team was drawing lines on a large piece of gray paper. Yet another team was pulling out long strips of fabric and tying them to pieces of furniture. On the far side of the stage, where Ami had gone, was a small cluster of girls staring at sheets of paper and chatting.

Curiosity got the better of Ranma, and she approached. She asked a girl kneeling on the ground near the edge of the stage, "What is this?"

The girl looked over at Ranma. She had medium-length blonde hair which draped down the back of her head. She asked, "This? This is going to be a carriage. I hope." It looked like the girl had taken a desk and tied a chair to the front of it with some string. She tapped the surface of the desk with the flat of her hand. "What do you think so far?

"No, I meant all of this," Ranma asked. She waved her hands around, indicating the entire stage.

"All of this? This is the handicraft club. We're getting set up for the upcoming play of 'Cinderella' that we're putting on with the Yamayurikai for the festival."

"The Yamayurikai?" Ranma asked. That sounded promising. She knew that Sachiko was in the Yamayurikai. If they were working with the handicraft club, then maybe if Ranma had an opportunity here. The idea would be to join with the handicraft club, in the hopes that it would bring her in contact with the Yamayurikai, in the hopes that she could meet Sachiko again, in the hopes that she could befriend her... using some unknown after-school club technique which Tanezaki had alluded to... Somehow...

When it was put that way, it did seem rather unlikely. On the other hand, it was also relatively safe. Unlike challenging Sachiko to a duel, which culminated in a a single decisive and unpredictable event, Ranma would be able to abort this effort at any time without any particular risk. Additionally, it could also help give her more of that general background knowledge of life in Lillian which she so desperately needed.

Ranma's analysis of the value of joining the handicraft club was interrupted by the appearance of Sachiko herself. She walked into the gym using the same door Ami and Ranma had used, but unlike their entrances, she brought with her a wave of quiet. The girls near the stage edge stopped their work and turned to look at her. Their interest caught the attention of the girls behind them, and the phenomenon propagated backwards as a wave until everybody had stopped in attentive silence.

"Are there any first-year students in here?" Sachiko asked. Her voice somehow managed to fill the entire room, even as it stayed moderate and composed. "I'd like somebody to take over the role of Cinderella from me."

Her question was met with silence. Several of the small clusters of girls exchanged looks with each other, but nobody said anything. 

"I'll make you my petite soeur," Sachiko said, the hint of desperation coloring her voice. "Please. I need help."

The phrase "petite soeur" stuck out to Ranma. It was one of the phrases that Yoshino had said. She had described it as a "sacred bond" and had mentioned how the two girls in that relationship helped each other in various ways. That sounded as close to a description of "friend" as Ranma had ever heard.

Ranma prided herself on her ability to spot and exploit and opening, and this opportunity practically screamed at her. Even better, unlike the one in the morning, she knew exactly how to take advantage of this one.

With the swiftness iconic of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Ranma said, "I'll do it." Her declaration was loud, filling the cavernous space of the gym, and everybody snapped over to look at her. "I'll help."

"Are you sure?" the girl that Ranma had been talking to earlier asked. "Do you even know what you're volunteering for?"

Before Ranma could say anything in return, Sachiko was at her side and grabbing her by the hand. "Come on," she said as she pulled Ranma away from the others.

The two of them rushed through the grounds of the school. Rather, Ranma rushed. Sachiko was technically on the verge of a jog as well, but she maintained her poise and grace as she moved. It was as if she were taking a stroll through a garden, albeit at double a more leisurely speed.

"The Yamayurikai is putting on a play for the school festival," Sachiko said as they passed by a row of trees and were approaching a small grove. "Onee-sama is telling me to be Cinderella, but I can't do it because... personal reasons. However, if I can find a petite soeur, then she could take my place. That's where you come in. That reminds me. Here, take this. You'll need to wear it around your neck."

Ranma took a quick glance at the object Sachiko handed to her. It was a small, silver cross attached to a loop of cord with beads all along it. It looked not unlike the necklace that Yoshino had shown her the day before. Ranma had to fractionally slow down to straighten it out before she could put it on.

Sachiko hadn't changed her pace at all and had already moved past the statue of the hooded woman by the time Ranma had placed the rosary around her neck. It forced Ranma to outright run for several steps in order to catch up.

"We're going to the Rose Mansion. It's this way. That reminds me, be sure call me 'Onee-sama.' It's traditional," Sachiko said, briefly sparing a glance back at Ranma before she continued forward.

"Sure," Ranma said. It felt weird for her to address anybody using the extremely respectful "sama" honorific, but based on her limited time in Lillian, it seemed to be rather common. She had already overheard several girls in her class referring to their "Onee-sama," plus there had been an occasional mentioning of a girl by name with the same honorific, so it wasn't entirely unexpected. Besides, it was just pretend for a few days.

They made their way behind the main school building, and Ranma eventually found herself approaching a modest two-story building. It had a peaked roof with a small cross on its top like a miniature steeple.

"When we get in there, let me do the talking," Sachiko said. She opened the front door and pulled Ranma in behind her.

The inside of the Rose Mansion reflected the outside. It was a plain building primarily made out of wood. A throw rug lined the floor of the entrance hall, and there were a few paintings decorating the different walls in sight. It was well maintained, but that couldn't overcome the fact that the building was just old. It very much could have been a priest's house from 100 years ago.

Sachiko quickly pulled Ranma forward and up some creaking stairs to the side of the entrance. At the top of the stairs she sped up even more, yanking on Ranma's hand in her haste. She rushed directly to a door which was shaped like a biscuit.

The door had a sign hanging on it which read, "Please be quiet. We are in a meeting." Ranma only had a moment to read it, though, as upon reaching it, Sachiko immediately shoved the door open and barged in.

"I have an announcement to make!"

The room they entered looked liked a Western-style dining room. There were numerous bay windows, several of which were open to the temperate autumn weather. In the center of the room was a large rectangular table upon which sat several flowers and a basket half-filled with cookies. Around the table were ten chairs. Sitting in them were six girls.

Ranma recognized the girl sitting on a near side as Yoshino, but she was the only girl she recognized.

Of the five unknown girls, three of them had short hair: the first with dark hair and a penetrating look in her eyes, the second with brown hair which was somewhat frizzed and messy, and the third with light brown hair and an androgynous face. The fourth girl had medium-length, brown hair which she kept pulled back with a headband. The last girl had long, wavy, brown hair and a delicate appearance.

All of the girls startled and snapped over to look at both the abrupt entrance and Sachiko's forceful declaration. The girl with short, dark hair had a teacup frozen half-way to her lips, and she slowly put it back on top of the saucer in front of her. The girl with frizzed hair had been reaching over for a cookie, but she stopped and sat back down onto her chair. The girl with her hair in a headband was holding a sheet of paper, but she put it down on the table in front of her and joined in with the others in looking at Ranma and Sachiko.

"Ranko-san?" Yoshino asked from where she sat at the table.

Ranma wondered what they had just interrupted.

Apparently Sachiko did not, though, as she continued, "I found a petite soeur." She pulled Ranma forward and held her in front of her as if Ranma were a child being shown to some extended relatives for the first time.

A bolt of lightning striking the room could have had more of an effect on the six girls sitting in the room than Sachiko's announcement had had, but it was hard to be certain. It would have been close, regardless. The collective sound of six gasps filled the air, and all six of the girls snapped over to stare at Sachiko and then at Ranma. Some of the girls had brought their hands up to cover their faces, and the ones who had not could be seen with their mouths gaping open. Each of the girls had an unfocused look of shocked disbelief as their eyes flicked between Ranma and Sachiko.

Sachiko's voice had the ring of triumph in it as she continued, "Ranko will be taking my place as Cinderella, just like we agreed."

Silence filled the room.

The girl with short, frizzed hair was the first to partially recover. She had an exotic beauty which looked somewhat roguish due to her casual bearing and posture. She held her hand against the side of her face and shook her head. As she did so, she said, "Ay-yay-ya. She's actually gone and done it."

"So it would seem," the girl with short, dark hair said. Her head was also shaking. She relaxed her face and looked over to direct her attention exclusively towards Ranma. "Gokigenyou. Welcome Lillian, Ranko-san. Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable." She gave a welcoming smile and gestured to one of the empty chairs at the table near Ranma. "Let's introduce ourselves. After that, we can discuss what my misguided petite soeur has done." The confidence with which she spoke and the subtle glances the others in the room periodically sent her way made it clear that she was the one in charge.

Sachiko said, "There's no..."

"Sachiko," the girl with short, dark hair said sharply. Sachiko fractionally shrank back at the girl's interruption.

The girl with long, wavy hair stood up. She had exceptionally pale and fair skin, and in many ways, she looked like an antique Western doll. She walked around the table, pulled out a chair, and held it slightly angled towards Ranma.

Ranma cast a skeptical eye at the chair, trying to judge if it was a trap. There didn't seem to be anything unusual about it, either in its construction or in its positioning. She gingerly stepped forward and took a seat, but she still maintained her guard in the event somebody tried to launch a surprise attack upon her.

"Would you like some tea?" the girl with long, wavy hair asked. "Or maybe some coffee or hot chocolate, although I have to warn you that those are only instant." She walked over to a table in the corner of the room where there was both a tray with a tea service on it and an electric kettle from which steam could be seen slowly rising.

Ranma automatically made the connection between hot drink and hot water. In turn, that was connected to danger. She quickly held up her hands and said, "No, no. No, thank you."

"As you like," the girl with long, wavy hair said. She returned the teacup she had picked up back to the tray on the table.

The girl with short, dark hair took a sip from her own cup and then put it back down. She offered another smile to Ranma and said, "I will confess that I had been hoping to have a chance to meet you, but I had never imagined it would be like this. I must apologize for the circumstances that brought us together. This is the Yamayurikai. I'm Youko Mizuno, Rosa Chinensis, and the grande soeur of Sachiko."

Ranma made note to pay close attention to her. She was one of the winners of the school tournament, and that made her one of the best of the best. Ranma still wasn't sure what it was that Lillian specialized in, but regardless of if it was Martial Arts Politics, Martial Arts Socialization, Martial Arts Friendship, or something else, it didn't matter. Youko's status marked her as being somebody particularly dangerous in the event that this was a trap, and somebody especially valuable to copy techniques from in any case.

The girl wearing a headband spoke next. "Nice to meet you. I'm Eriko Torii, Rosa Foetida." Her headband held back her hair from her large forehead, and the smile on her face quirked mischievously.

Eriko's introduction caught Ranma's attention, even more so than Youko's had. More important than being one of The Three Roses, Eriko was one of the three girls that Genma had listed as being particularly good for Ranma to befriend. She made sure to memorize her face and her voice. If things didn't work out with Sachiko, then Eriko was another person she could target.

The androgynous girl was the next one to speak. She had a lean body which spoke of her being involved in some kind of sport. She said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rei Hasekura, Rosa Foetida en bouton."

It wasn't unusual for the boss of the school to give an introduction before beginning a duel with Ranma, and occasionally a favored lieutenant might as well. That had never happened prior to an ambush, though, let alone having a third person also give an introduction. Everything just felt off.

"I'm Sei Satou, Rosa Gigantea," the girl with short, frizzed hair said.

Ranma noted her as well as the third master of the school, but by this point, she was more preoccupied with trying to place the sense of discordance than marking another special practitioner. This didn't feel at all like a trap, but if it wasn't a trap, then what was it? The disorienting confusion left her unsettled, and the touches of familiarity only enhanced that sensation. She tightened her guard in response.

The girl with long, wavy hair spoke up last from where she still stood behind Ranma. She said, "My name is Shimako Toudou, Rosa Gigantea en bouton, although I am also a first-year student like yourself. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Then the room went quiet.

Everybody focused on Ranma.

The air was heavy with the tense pressure of expectation.

Ranma's eyes quickly flicked between the different girls around her. It didn't exactly feel like a trap, but one thing she had learned from Genma was to never let down her guard. The moment she relaxed was the moment she was most vulnerable to a surprise attack.

Eriko turned and sent a look at Youko. Sei did the same.

"There's no need to be nervous," Youko said. "Can you introduce yourself?"

Ranma hesitated. Sachiko had said to leave the talking to her, and she wasn't sure if she should keep quiet or not. She sent a glance towards Sachiko to see if she could get a cue, but she couldn't read anything from her at all.

It was infuriating. She was sure she had been in a situation like this before, and multiple times at that, but she had no idea where, when, or why. It was like remembering some lyrics but not being able to place the song had they came from.

Youko continued to look at Ranma with compelling expectation.

They were at an impasse it seemed, and Ranma needed to do something to break it. She said, "... Nice to meet you... I'm..." She was going to continue on and give her name, as the standard greeting went, but she suddenly realized to her chagrin that she had forgotten her supposed surname. It was Su-something, she thought. She wasn't sure, though, and she wasn't willing to risk it. In a small voice, she trailed off, "... Ranko..."

Once again silence filled the room.

"Nice to meet you," Youko said. She offered Ranma another warm smile. "So now that we've properly met, I must apologize on behalf of my petite soeur for placing you in this situation." She gave a modest bow of her head. She then turned to look at Sachiko. In a decidedly more stern voice, she said, "I'm very disappointed. We were told about Ranko-san so that we could look out for her, not so we could take advantage of her."

"Poor thing," Rei said quietly with a shake of her head.

Youko turned back to Ranma and said, "I would like to assure you that my petite soeur's behavior has not been sanctioned by the Yamayurikai. You may return her rosary without worry. I'll be having words with her later."

And suddenly everything clicked together: the initial encounter with the masters of a new school of martial arts, the group introductions of the panel before her, the accusations directed towards the one who had brought Ranma before them. This wasn't a trap. This was a test! That was why everything felt so familiar. She had been through a countless number of them throughout her years of training.

First would be the accusations against the would-be sponsor for violating some rule of some kind or other. Then would come an explanation of why Ranma couldn't be allowed to learn the secrets of their school. Concurrent to that would be her interrogation, during which Ranma would need to convince them she was worthy of studying here. There may even be some consultation with some authority to see if an exception could be granted. Regardless, though, it would ultimately culminate with some challenge Ranma would need to overcome. Once she did so, as she always did, only then would she be allowed access to the secret techniques of the school.

The stakes were much higher this time, though. Not only were the novel and still unknown martial arts practiced in Lillian depending on this fight, the Umisenken was as well. If Ranma was turned away, that would put the entire training program Genma had planned for her at risk. There was always the possibility she could befriend some other rich girl, but who knew when such an opportunity might come again? At the very least, it would set her back a few days, and she was enthusiastic to learn the Umisenken as fast as possible. Plus there was the matter of her pride, too.

"Soeurs are supposed to have a sacred bond, like a marriage. I can't believe you would degrade it like this. It's despicable," Sei said.

Now that Ranma had managed to place what was going on, she felt much more confident. If this was the trial for her admission, then she was more than prepared to fight. She took advantage of the opening Sei had presented and launched her counterattack.

"You take that back! Osaga... I mean Onee-sama..." the title slid off of Ranma's tongue like a roof tile smashing into the ground, "... has been very kind to me."

Youko let out the breath she had been taking in in an abrupt questioning exhalation. She blinked at Ranma with an expression of surprise and confusion. Everybody else in the room did likewise, including Sachiko herself. The look of curiosity was consistent in all of the eyes now focused upon Ranma.

They were off-balance. That had to be a good thing. Ranma pressed the attack. "She showed me how to tie this stupid thing." Ranma flicked her neckerchief with her hands as she spoke. "And... and..." She tried to think of something else to add. "... And she's been really helpful." That was all she could think to say. Her declaration felt weak, so she quickly continued, increasing her volume in an attempt to compensate. "This is something I want too."

"It's only been one day," Youko said.

"So what? That doesn't matter. Onee-sama gave me her rosary..." Ranma said as pulled the pendant out from where it hung around her neck, "... and that's that."

"Technically..." Eriko said, slightly elongating the word for emphasis. "... Sachiko can select whoever she wants as her petite soeur, as long as they both agree." The mischievous look on her face had grown more prominent, transforming her smile into something much more like a grin. "And it certainly sounds to me like Ranko-san does in fact agree."

Youko pinched the bridge of her nose and gave a large, if quiet, a sigh. She said, "That is a good point. Very well." She dropped her hand from her face and looked back and forth between Ranma and Sachiko. She edges of her mouth quirked into what could passably be considered a smile, and she made a slight bow with her head. "I apologize for my misunderstanding. I will recognize Ranko-chan as Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur."

The change in honorific Youko used came as a relief. More than the words themselves, it suggested to Ranma that she had been successful in her argument. She had been admitted. Still, a cloud of doubt still lingered in the air. It was typical to face a challenge of some sort before being granted admission, and the absence of one made things feel incomplete and improper.

Sachiko visibly inflated in response to Youko's declaration. The defiant triumph was back in her voice as she said, "Good. Then like we agreed, Ranko can take over my role as Cinderella in the play."

"Now that..." Eriko said, once again extending out the word for emphasis, "... is another matter entirely. It's too late to change the role of Cinderella."

"You promised," Sachiko almost, but not quite, shouted.

The room went quiet as Youko, Sei, and Eriko exchanged glances. Youko broke that silence, saying, "While it is true that we had said that somebody without a petite soeur didn't have much standing to speak in meetings, we never said anything about changing the roles of the play. You just decided that on your own. I won't allow you to drop it. It's for your own good."

"What'dya mean she's got to play Cinderella?"

It took a moment for Ranma to realize that that exclamation had just come from her. Behind her, the chair she had been sitting in clattered to the ground, thrown back by her abrupt rising to her feet.

Everybody startled and looked up at Ranma.

"Ya'all keep going on and on, saying what Ogasawara-san's gotta do. Says who?"

The line about it being for Sachiko's own good grated Ranma. She had heard Genma say the same more times than she could count, such as when he had eaten her dinner, or when he had left her as a distraction while he made his escape.

"And who are you to have any say in this matter?" Youko asked. Her voice maintained an even and controlled tone, in contrast to Ranma's brassy shouting.

"Rosa Chinesisu en boton peti souyu, but that don't matter. What matters is Ogasawara-san's Ogasawara-san, and if she don't want to do it, then she don't got to." Ranma sent a challenging look of defiance at Youko.

"Onee-sama, you are the one who's always telling me I should assert myself more," Sachiko said. She spoke in a normal voice, but it sounded decidedly subdued in comparison to Ranma's much louder declaration.

The room was quiet for a second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Then Sei gave a quiet laugh. "She's got you there."

The other girls remained quiet as they turned to see Youko's reaction. It seemed like no matter what else happened, she would be the final arbiter.

"So you're willing to take over then? Do you even know what you're volunteering for?" Youko asked, half-skeptical and half-exasperated.

"It doesn't matter," Ranma said. She thought back to the explanation Yoshino had given the day before. "It is the sacred duty for the petitu souyiru to assist her Onee-sama." The title became easier to say the more she used it. "For her, I'm ready to do anything."

Rei leaned over to Yoshino and semi-quietly said, "You could learn a thing or two from her."

Yoshino emoted an exaggerated frown back at Rei, who grinned in response.

Youko continued to address Ranma and said, "Those are brave words, but it won't be easy. We've been practicing for a few weeks now. It will be a lot of hard work for you to catch up, if you even can."

Suddenly, a sense of order and correctness was restored to the world. The absence of an admittance challenge had felt as strange as trying to cook tonkatsu without any oil, and its reappearance brought with it the comfort of familiarity. Ranma had lost count of the number of times she had heard lines like Youko's before. It was a common refrain throughout her life of martial arts training: this could make you cry, this could make you throw up, this could make you pass out, this could kill you. Are you sure you can handle it?

She had a universal answer to every one of those warnings.

"I love a challenge."

"I can see why Sachiko picked you," Youko said. The ghost of a smile crossed her mouth, and she nodded with her eyes if not her whole head. "Very well. You've convinced me."

It felt natural. This was Ranma's element. None of the secrets, scheming, and whatever else Genma was having her do for this Umisenken training. This was a plain and simple challenge, like so many she had done before. She had just learned the objective to meet. Next would be the desperate struggle to learn the new skills she needed to meet that objective. There would be complications, of course, maybe even to the point that it would seem like all was lost. Then, in the end, she would succeed. She always did. Eventually.

Youko looked up at Sachiko. "You'll play... Sister B instead. I expect you to talk to the handicraft club about the costume change."

"Of course. Thank you very much," Sachiko said. She bowed to Youko.

Youko turned to address Yoshino and Shimako. She said, "And that means you two will only need to do Sister A's and Sister C's lines."

"Understood," Yoshino and Shimako both said.

Youko looked around the table, meeting the eyes of everybody sitting there. She said, "So now that that's all settled, I think we should get back to the meeting agenda. We still have numerous open requests, and I'm sure the coming days will be filled with a great deal of extra time practicing, now that we've had this late casting change. We had best get through everything today so we can focus on rehearsals starting tomorrow." She looked up at Sachiko. "Would you please take a seat?"

Sachiko sat down in a chair next to where Ranma was still standing.

As her role in the situation was done, Ranma turned and started to leave. Before she could take two steps, though, Youko asked, "Where are you going?"

Ranma turned her head back and said, "It looks like you're starting your meeting, so I thought I'd just go and leave you to it." She pointed towards the door with both of her hands.

"Now that you are Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur, you have a place in the Yamayurikai as well. That is, unless if you've changed your mind?" Youko asked. She tilted her head fractionally and her eyebrows raised in question.

Ranma hadn't come this far only to back away now. She turned around, picked up the fallen chair, and placed it at the table next to Sachiko. She then sat down.

"Are you sure you would not like some tea?" Yoshino asked from where she remained seated at the table.

"Yes. No. I mean, 'Yes, I am sure.' Maybe some water. Just some regular, cold water," Ranma said. She was going to do anything she needed to do to avoid hot water. It was just like Genma had said; it was as easy as just not getting splashed.

"Of course," Yoshino said. She stood up and walked out of the room.

Ranma looked to the left and to the right, and she then slowly reached over to the basket of cookies tempting her from the center of the table. When nobody objected, she darted in and grabbed one. It tasted as good as it looked. She quickly grabbed another.

"Now I believe that we were discussing the request of the scripture reading club," Youko said. She turned to Sei and asked, "Rosa Gigantea?"

Sei picked up the paper from where she had placed it on the table and held it up in front of her again. She said, "Yes. They have requested to reserve the space around Maria-sama for the festival. They are planning on doing a seminar on Gestas and Saint Dismas. They believe that Maria-sama would serve as a good backdrop and encourage people to join the discussion."

"They want to reserve Maria-sama? For how long?" Youko asked. Across the table from her, Eriko took a sip from her cup.

Sei looked down at her paper again. "The whole festival."

"The whole festival?" Eriko exclaimed.

Rei reached over and took one of the cookies in the basket. Ranma waited for her to finish before she reached over and grabbed a third one for herself. Free food was free food. Even better, the cookies were delicious. The only disappointment was that each one was so small.

"They can't reserve Maria-sama for the whole day," Youko said. "It'd make the entire student body quite angry if we were to block her off just for them. Everybody prays to her."

Yoshino returned with a cup of water. She placed it in front of Ranma and then took her seat.

Sei asked, "How about a compromise..."

The discussion went on for hours. The Three Roses discussed several clubs and classes, none of which Ranma recognized, and the requests that each of them had for the upcoming festival. Sachiko and Rei occasionally chimed in with their opinions on the topic at hand. To a noticeably lesser extent, Shimako did as well. Yoshino was mostly quiet throughout the discussions. Ranma was quiet, too, in no small part because she wasn't quite sure what was going on.

At some cue which Ranma didn't recognize, a communal agreement was somehow reached that they should break for the day. The girls sporadically pushed back from the table and stood up. Ranma did so as well, stretching as she rose to her feet.

"Ranko-san. Can you please help get the windows?" Shimako asked. She gestured to one of the open windows at the side of the room.

"Hmm?" Ranma asked.

"It's traditional for the petite soeurs to clean up after the meetings. Can you help close the windows and the curtains? I'll dispose of the trash," Shimako said.

Shimako picked out the wilted flowers on the table and walked over to the trash bin in the corner of the room. Meanwhile, Yoshino collected the plates and cups. Rei had stayed behind as well and was helping Yoshino by holding the serving tray upon which Yoshino stacked the dishes.

"Uhh... sure," Ranma said. She moved to the windows and started closing them.

There was less to do in the Rose Mansion than in the classrooms, which was good because they had fewer people as well. Yoshino washed up the dishes, Shimako took out the trash, and Ranma closed the windows and straightened out the furniture.

The sun was rapidly approaching the horizon when Ranma, Shimako, Yoshino, and Rei made their way back to the entrance of the Rose Mansion. As they descended the stairs, Sachiko emerged from one of the rooms on the ground floor to meet them.

Upon seeing her, Rei looked over and asked, "You're still here?"

"Yes. I just wanted to have a word with Ranko," Sachiko said.

"I understand. Gokigenyou," Rei said. She gave a nod of her head, opened the front door, and took her leave. Yoshino and Shimako did likewise, following behind Rei.

Once the door had closed behind them, Sachiko turned back to Ranma and said, "I just wanted to say thank you. That didn't go the way I was expecting, and... thanks."

"Sure thing," Ranma said.

"That's all. I'll see you tomorrow for the rehearsal then. It will be held here, after classes. Gokigenyou," Sachiko said. She nodded her head and then exited from the front door.

"'Later," Ranma answered to Sachiko's back. She turned off the lights and left the Rose Mansion.

The sun was in the process of setting as Ranma made her way back to camp. That wasn't the only sign of the time, either. More than the reddening light all around her, her stomach urged her forward. The cookies in the meeting had been nice, but they had quickly run out. Dinner beckoned, even if it was just another handful of cold cereal.

Once she was sure she was unobserved, Ranma once again sneaked into the camp at the temple. Inside, sitting under the tent, Genma hovered over a shogi board. The light was rapidly fading, but it was still possible to see Genma's repeatedly removing and placing a piece on the board. He quickly flicked his hands and fingers to do so, such that it appeared as if the piece would simply materialize or vanish to anybody not paying close attention to the board: the lance had always been there, the knight had never been there.

"How are things going, boy?" Genma asked. "You manage to make friends yet? Time's wasting."

"Yeah," Ranma said. She pulled the rosary off from around her neck and held it out on display. "I got this from Ogasawara-san today. Easy."

Genma stood up and snatched the rosary from Ranma's hand with the same speed he had been using to manipulate the shogi board earlier. He took a step away and turned to the side, such that he could more closely examine the silver cross in the dimming sunset.

"It's worthless," Genma said. He threw the rosary back at Ranma, who easily caught it.

"Maybe, but it does show Ogasawara-san's close and everything, so I'm done with that step," Ranma said. She negligently lobbed the rosary onto the top of her pack. She then pulled off her neckerchief and unzipped her dress. As she did so, she asked, "Now what's step three?"

"I can't tell you yet. You're still too inexperienced, and it would ruin everything," Genma said. "Concentrate on solidifying your relationship with Ogasawara. I'll tell you step three in a couple of days, once it won't be... once the time is right."

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma said, rolling her eyes to herself. She then pulled off her sailor uniform. "This had better be worth it."

"It will be. Trust me," Genma said.

Ranma was disappointed that Genma was withholding the next step in the training from her, but she took his reasoning and assurances at face value. If there was one thing Genma took seriously, it was martial arts. He could be callous, incompetent, deceptive, or just plain mistaken; but he was never flippant about it. If he said that there was some ultra powerful set of techniques at the end of all of this, a set of techniques that he himself had invented, and if he said that it would be more effective for Ranma to wait a few days before learning the third step to this bizarre training, then Ranma was willing to believe him, for another two weeks, at least.

Genma leaned down swept all the shogi pieces off of the board and into a bag. He said, "Now hurry up and get changed. You're late enough as it is."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Ranma asked as she carefully stored the dress. She then quickly pulled off her undergarments, too. They joined the sailor dress, although she didn't need to take as much care in storing them as she had with the dress. She finished by finding a keikogi and putting it on.

"Where's the hot water?" Ranma asked.

"None today. We'll get some on the way. Come on. Let's go," Genma said.

"Okay," Ranma said. She followed behind Genma, and the pair made their way back to the riverbank.

Along the way, they stopped by a convenience store. Ranma sneaked into the bathroom and emerged male. On the way out, he casually slipped a few candy bars into his keikogi in preparation for dinner.

Genma engaged with Ranma in a vigorous spar for an hour before they broke for dinner. Ranma's preparations proved wise, as Genma was not inclined to share the warm sushi he was eating. Not only that, Ranma had to fight to protect the food he had acquired for himself.

Once they had finished eating, they resumed their training. It continued on for several hours before Genma called an end to their fight. They then sneaked back into their camp, which was made much easier to do by the quiet darkness of the night. Finally, Ranma collapsed on his cold bedroll, and he quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Last Updated: March 3, 2021


	4. New Interest

Chapter 4: New Interest

Ranma left for school with a proverbial spring in her step. She wasn't sure what Genma's full training regiment was, but she had successfully accomplished the first two tasks within a single day each. By any measure, she was making excellent progress. The sense of achievement filled her with satisfaction. At her current rate, she was sure that she would complete the entire Umisenken training long before Genma's nebulous deadline had arrived.

Ironically, the only real limitation to her progress was Genma himself and the fact that he wouldn't actually tell her the third step. While she couldn't blame him for his cautious prudence, assuming he was actually telling the truth that keeping the third step hidden would improve the effect of the training, she could still fume at him in annoyance. It was a not-atypical posture for her to have with respect to him.

Ranma naturally joined with the small crowd of similarly dressed girls making their way to Lillian. Along the way, she noticed for the first time that most of them stopped briefly at the statue of the hooded woman on their way into the school. Ranma wasn't sure what that was about, though, so ignored them and continued on her way to class.

It appeared that the rumor mill had been working overtime. As Ranma was entering her classroom, a girl with long black hair confronted her and asked, "Gokigenyou. Is it true?"

Ranma reflexively took a step away from her too close approach. She asked, "Is what true?"

"Is it true that you're the now the petite soeur of Sachiko-sama; that you're Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur?" the girl asked. Two other girls stepped closer to listen in.

"Uhh... yeah," Ranma said.

The loud shriek of the three girls caused Ranma to startle back in surprise. The exclamation of delight drew the attention of the others in the room, who crowded around the door to join in the conversation.

"Oh, you're so lucky!" the first girl exclaimed.

"How did you do it?" one of the new girls asked. Her black hair was in a pageboy haircut.

Ranma said, "Osa... Onee-sama was looking for somebody to help, and I said I would."

"Ohhh..."

"What's Sei-sama like in person? She's so cool," a girl with medium-length frizzy blonde hair asked.

"No, Sachiko-sama. Sachiko-sama's better," the first girl said. "I'm so envious."

"What does the inside of the Rose Mansion look like?" a girl with glasses and short blonde hair asked at the same time.

The flash of a camera seized Ranma's attention, and she turned her head to look. In the hallway to her side, the girl with glasses and long bangs from the first day was pointing her camera at her again.

"I think I'll call this one, 'Rite of Succession,'" the camera girl said.

"What's with all those pictures you keep taking? Who are you?" Ranma asked the girl.

"Oh, right. I never introduced myself, did I? I'm Tsutako Takeshima, of the photography club. I'm taking photos for the upcoming festival exhibition. That reminds me, do you mind if I publish this?" Tsutako asked.

Tsutako handed over a picture of Ranma being surrounded by a bunch of girls at her desk. In the photograph, Ranma was looking obviously harried. A small label had been stuck to it, upon which was handwritten, "Welcoming Committee."

Ranma handed it back to Tsutako and said, "Sure, why not?"

"Great, thanks," Tsutako said.

"You didn't answer my question. What does the inside of the Rose Mansion look like?" the girl with glasses and blonde hair asked again.

"It looks pretty ordinary," Ranma said.

The crowd in front of the doorway was growing larger and larger as more and more girls gathered in front of it.

"Can I see the rosary?" a girl with long curly brown hair asked.

The question gave Ranma a jolt of panic. That was a problem. She actually couldn’t show her the rosary because she didn’t have it with her. It was back in the camp. She wasn't exactly sure where, but she thought it might be on the top of her pack. In hindsight, forgetting about it had been a mistake due to the possibility of situations exactly like this occurring. She would need to be more conscientious in the future.

Ranma was saved from the oversight, though, when a girl with brown hair draped to one side of her head asked, "Where did the ceremony take place?"

"Outside, by that statue," Ranma said, relieved for the distraction.

"Ohhh..." the girls surrounding Ranma all gave a collective squeal, raising up their hands to half-cover their faces.

The questioning finally came to a close when Ami clapped loudly and said, "Please, everybody, take your seats. Class is about to start."

A quick glance to the side showed that Tanezaki was approaching the classroom. Ranma hurried inside through the now cleared doorway. She reached her desk just as Ami announced, "Stand. Bow."

Ranma's third day of classes began.

Throughout the lessons, Ranma's classmates kept glancing at her. It was very much like her first day, with her possibly getting even more attention than she had two days earlier. It made her nervous. The very first instruction Genma had given her was to blend in. She thought she had been doing a reasonably good job of it, but this newfound attention was calling that into question. She was worried that she had made a mistake of some kind.

That feeling was even further exacerbated when lunchtime came around. A girl with accusatory eyes and a tight brown ponytail stormed into the classroom. She was flanked by two smaller girls with short black hair, one with glasses and one without. She glanced around the room and then charged straight at Ranma. She said, "Gokigenyou. I'm Minako Tsukiyama, head of the newspaper club and the editor-in-chief of the 'Lillian Kawaraban.'"

"Hello?" Ranma asked cautiously. The direct approach from the girl somehow felt like a challenge. She instinctively readied herself for the three against one fight. She could roll backwards, kicking out as she went, and throwing her chair up to act as impromptu cover as she backed away to gain space.

"I'm writing an article on the new Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur, and would like you to answer a few questions," Minako said. Without giving Ranma a chance to say anything, Minako pulled out a small notepad, leaned in slightly, and asked, "The people would like to know, what brought you to Lillian?"

The question felt an attack, albeit one in a form that Ranma hadn't been expecting. She had to take a moment to recompose herself to address it. She kept an eye on Minako and her two backers as she did so, in case it was a distraction for a more traditional physical assault, and considered her response. Genma had already told the story to the headmistress during their introduction, so it was probably correct to repeat it.

"It was my mother's dying wish," Ranma said.

Ranma's declaration brought with it a few small gasps around the room. A couple of girls said a quiet, "Aww..."

Minako scratched some words on her small notepad and nodded in response. As she wrote, she asked, "So your mother's dead? Does that mean your father raised you?"

"Yes," Ranma said. She wasn't sure where Minako was going with her questions, but she had a bad feeling about them.

"How was that?" Minako asked.

"How was what?" Ranma asked.

Minako stopped writing for a second and directed a pointed look at Ranma. She asked, "How was it growing up with only your father?"

"Fine, I guess," Ranma said. She wasn't even sure what to compare it with. It was the only life she had ever known.

Even as Minako scratched more notes on her notepad, she continued her interrogation. "What school did you go to before coming to Lillian?"

Ranma nervousness spiked. There was her general anxiety at the newfound attention she had received since she had entered the classroom. There was also her concern at Minako's close proximity and the numbers advantage she wielded. Now, added to both, was the newly discovered problem that Ranma hadn't given any thought into what her fictitious life prior to coming to Lillian was supposed to have been. If she started to give specifics, there was a very real chance that she could be discovered.

This interrogation felt like a fight, and it felt like one Ranma was losing. She didn't like it one bit.

"Why do you care?" Ranma asked, trying to turn the questioning back on Minako.

"It's not me. It's the readers of the 'Lillian Kawaraban.' Everybody always likes to hear about the Yamayurikai, and a new transfer student is always exciting. Combined together? A girl shows up, and one day later, she becomes Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur? There's obviously a story here. So where did you go to school before?"

"Here and there," Ranma said. It wasn't a lie, either. She had lost track of all the different schools she had attended throughout the years.

Minako's two escorts hadn't moved since their arrival. They were standing in a position such that they inconveniently blocked the way to the room's door. It could have been a coincidence, but Ranma was guessing it wasn't.

"Hmm... very suspicious," Minako said, as she continued to quickly write in her notepad. "Then let's try this instead. What is Sachiko-san to you?"

That was a question Ranma knew the correct answer to give. She said, "She's my Onee-sama, of course."

Minako nodded and asked, "How did you meet her?"

"She helped me with my uniform," Ranma said. She felt much less confident about that answer. Her gaze wandered as she spoke, surveying the area around her.

A majority of the students had stayed in their seats and were openly eavesdropping on the interrogation. It meant that while the room was full of people, but it was also relatively open. The only real obstacle was Minako and her two helpers, who were blocking the nearest two aisles to the classroom door. If Ranma was to get past them, she would either need to push her way through or take a long detour around several desks.

It was a reasonable blocking formation, but it had a major flaw. They had left the path to windows wide open. It was a really strange oversight to have made, but Ranma wasn't going to question her good luck. People made exploitable mistakes all the time, and taking advantage of them was one of the core principals of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. 

"And that was enough to make you her petite soeur?" Minako asked.

"Listen, I'd love to talk more, but I gotta go," Ranma said. She stood up.

Minako and her two escorts followed Ranma as she walked through the rows of desks, maintaining their position blocking the door. That wasn't her destination, though.

Ranma walked to the windows, which had been left open to let in the refreshing Autumn air. She turned her head back to Minako, waved a hand, and said, "Goodbye."

She then stepped up onto the windowsill and jumped out.

Ranma plummeted down from the second story window. Behind her, she could barely make out the sounds of some girls screaming. It was easy to disregard them, as they was mostly muffled by the angle of the window and the sound of wind rushing past her ear, and instead focus on positioning herself in relation to the rapidly approaching ground.

She kept her knees loose, and they collapsed under her the moment her feet impacted the hard surface below her. She concurrently pushed forward and converted the majority of her falling momentum into a forward roll. She went over her back twice and then pushed up back to a standing position. That coincidentally placed her standing right next to a girl with a porcelain-like complexion and long wavy brown hair.

Ranma quickly recognized the girl as being Shimako from the introduction in the Rose Mansion the day before.

"G..Gokigenyou," Shimako said. Her voice was obviously one of surprise, but she still mostly maintained her composure. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine," Ranma said. She dusted off the back of her dress. It had been a flawless example of a landing.

"If you say so," Shimako said hesitantly. She tilted her head slightly. "I was actually on my way to eat my lunch. Would like to join me?" She was carrying what appeared to be a lunch box swaddled in a cloth wrapper.

"I guess so, but we'll need to go by the vending machines first," Ranma said, gesturing in the appropriate direction.

"That's quite alright. After you," Shimako said with a nod.

Ranma quickly made her way over to the vending machines, with Shimako walking beside her along the way. When they reached the machines, Ranma inserted her coins and bought some more instant noodles.

"You must enjoy noodles very much," Shimako said.

"They're cheap and light, and you get a lot with them. It's a good value," Ranma said, picking up the third cup. They were an excellent food supply to carry while hiking through the wilderness. There was no guarantee of success when foraging for food, and it was always good to have a backup plan.

"I suppose," Shimako said.

Ranma cradled two cups in an arm and held the third one in hand. She turned to face Shimako and asked, "So where are we going to eat?"

Shimako tilted her head and asked, "Don't you need to cook them first?"

"No, not at all," Ranma quickly said, shaking her head vigorously. Hot water to cook noodles was far from a consistent thing when camping, and now that she was trying to masquerade as a girl, it was effectively prohibited as long as she was in Lillian. "They're better dry anyway."

"I see," Shimako said hesitantly. "In that case, let's go eat behind the primary gym. I know a nice spot."

Shimako led Ranma outside the building, walking in the measured pace which was the norm in Lillian. She proceeded down the main road and around the buildings to a small grove. Ginkgo trees surrounded them. The lone exception was a single cherry tree, which Shimako walked towards and subsequently sat beneath.

Ranma sat down next to her.

The package Shimako was carrying did turn out to be an ornate lacquered lunch box. She unwrapped it and revealed the equally ornate meal contained within. It had a section for rice, another section for vegetables, several cookies in cute shapes, some potato balls, and some fried cutlets.

Shimako pulled out a pair of chopsticks and said, "Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu," Ranma likewise said. She then ripped open her first cup of noodles and started eating with her bare hands, eager to get something in her empty stomach.

"Why did you fall out of your classroom earlier? Did somebody push you out the window or something?" Shimako asked between bites.

Ranma swallowed her current mouthful of noodles and paused briefly to answer. "That? I was trying to get away from some newspaper girls. They're really persistent." Ranma then took another large bite of her already-half-finished first cup

"So you jumped?" Shimako asked. She was eating her meal at a substantially more measured pace than Ranma's voracious devouring.

"Yeah. I mean, it's only the second floor," Ranma said, a bit puzzled why it was even a question. It was as if Shimako had asked her if she had walked out of an open door. The short fall was as easy as kneeling down to pick up a 100-yen coin.

Ranma shoved the last bite of the first block of noodles into her mouth. As she chewed, she took the opportunity to open the second one.

Shimako paused in her own eating. She placed her chopsticks across her lunch box and held them there. She then looked over at Ranma and asked, "Only?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. She looked up at Shimako's face and saw two wide open eyes staring at her in surprise. 

Worry flashed through Ranma. She thought back to what they had been talking about, and that worry grew. She had been told to blend in, but Shimako was very much acting like she had stood out. She hesitantly asked, "Is that unusual?"

"Yes, it is," Shimako said slowly, nodding her head.

That completely shocked Ranma. She had never considered jumping from that low a height to be at all special. However, as absurd as the idea was, Shimako did think it was unusual. Ranma needed to do something.

She could heard Kondou advice about how to manage a disguise. The first and best layer of subterfuge was to not be noticed. That had failed. The next layer was to try to deflect attention. Make whatever had caught the guard's attention seem inconsequential.

"It's really not that big a deal. My pop's been throwing me from higher than that for years," Ranma said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"He has? That sounds horrible! Why?" Shimako asked.

Ranma finished off her second block of noodles and had already opened the third one.

That was a bit of a silly question, too. Why else would anybody do anything? Ranma said, "For training."

"Training? What type of training?" Shimako asked. She had resumed eating her vegetables, albeit much more slowly than her initial pace.

Ranma almost said "martial arts," but managed to stop herself. Ordinary girls didn't do martial arts. She needed to think of a different explanation. She wasn't sure what would be a better one, though. In the end, she had jumped to avoid Minako and the others, so that could serve as a good explanation. She said, "It was training to avoid annoying newspaper girls, teeheehee."

Shimako raised her eyes in question at Ranma. She asked, "For evading newspaper girls?"

"It worked out well, too," Ranma said. She finished the last bite of her third cup of noodles. The edge of her hunger had been addressed, but she couldn't help but stare at the lunch in Shimako's lap. It was still half full, and it looked incredibly delicately put together.

Shimako gave a small laugh which somehow sounded forced. She said, "I can't disagree with that. Maybe I should learn the same thing." Shimako leaned in and whispered, "Minako-sama really can be quite difficult to deal with sometimes."

Ranma tore her gaze upward to make eye contact. That statement raised hope in Ranma. She had thought that Minako's interest in her had been the result of a mistake she had made. Maybe she hadn't actually botched her mission of blending in.

"You too?" Ranma asked. "I thought she was targeting me for some reason."

"She is targeting you," Shimako said, still in a low voice. The statement caused Ranma's heart to sink. "She targets everybody in the Yamayurikai. It's pretty normal." Ranma's heart bounced back up.

Shimako leaned back and spoke in a more ordinary voice. "It's always like this when a new member joins the Yamayurikai. Yoshino-san missed the school's opening ceremony, but Rei-sama still made her her petite soeur. You can imagine the reaction to that. She was made a member of the Yamayurikai before she had even attended her first class.

"There was even more interest when Onee-sama selected me. Onee-sama had gone through her entire second-year without selecting anybody as a petite soeur, and then skipped over that year entirely and picked me. For weeks, Minako-sama or one of the other members of the newspaper club followed me wherever I went."

Shimako's explanation was a relief to Ranma. Apparently her situation was ordinary, relatively speaking. That should be good enough.

"People always like to hear about what the Yamayurikai is doing, and Minako-sama is always bothering one or another of us to find out," Shimako said. She leaned in again and said in a quite voice, "She never gets things right, either. For example, the 'Lillian Kawaraban' is trying to play up some big feud between Onee-sama and Rosa Chinensis."

"So there isn't one, then? A big fight between Rosa Chinensis and..." Ranma tried to remember all the names and titles and relationships, "... Rosa Fotida?"

Shimako swallowed her bite of cutlet and sat up straight again. "Of course not, although my Onee-sama is Rosa Gigantea. There isn't a fight between them either. The Three Roses get along quite well together. It's kind of expected, being in the Yamayurikai. The student body places all of us on a pedestal. They like to watch us, and they like to imitate us, but they rarely befriend us. Most girls just naturally keep a bit of distance. It makes it difficult to make any new friendships with anybody outside the group."

That was both good news and bad news. It meant that if Ranma stayed in the Yamayurikai, she would have a natural advantage in regard to befriending Sachiko and Eriko. On the other hand, it also made it sound like it would be much harder to befriend the as-of-yet-undiscovered Kanina. Seeing how Ranma was focused on Sachiko at the moment, though, that handicap probably didn't matter that much.

"Does that mean you're friends with Yoshino-san?" Ranma asked. Her attention was drawn once again back to Shimako's lunch box. It would be so easy to swipe something. She was sorely tempted, but thus far she hadn't seen anybody stealing any food in Lillian. Even the cafeteria had been bereft of any bread warfare. She would need to restrain herself.

"Kind of," Shimako said. "We're friendly enough with each other, but we don't have very much in common. She isn't that interested in Catholicism or other religions, and I'm just not that interested martial arts or the Tokugawa-era books she likes to read."

It took a second for Ranma to register Shimako's words. She had a hard time reconciling the idea that somebody as fragile looking as Yoshino could be interested in things like honor, guts, and fighting spirit. She herself liked them, of course, but had been under the impression from Genma that regular girls didn't care about that kind of stuff at all. It was why she had tried to hide her martial arts training a few minutes earlier.

"Yoshino-san? Are we talking about the same girl? Skinny, twin braids?" Ranma asked, pantomiming Yoshino's hair style as she did so.

"She doesn't look it at all, does she?" Shimako asked, covering her mouth as she giggled. "See, that's a perfect example. Most people outside the Yamayurikai think Rei-sama is the one who's into samurai and sports, and Yoshino-san is the one who likes sewing and cooking. It's actually the reverse. However, nobody outside the Yamayurikai ever gets close enough to find out the truth."

A slight frown touched Shimako's mouth. She said, "It's actually lucky that you're in the same class as her. You should try to make friends with her. I think she's a bit lonely."

Shimako then followed Ranma's gaze down to her lap, where it still stared at the remaining fourth of her lunch. She looked up again at Ranma's face, tipped her lunch box, and asked, "Would you like to try some?"

Ranma didn't need to be offered twice. She quickly said, "I'd love to."

Shimako pulled out a second pair of chopsticks from the side of her lunch box and handed them to Ranma. She said, "Help yourself."

"Thanks," Ranma said as she grabbed a cutlet. It was just as succulent as she had imagined it would be. Despite the fact that it was cold, it still had a crispy exterior and a juicy interior. The lightly seasoned vegetables were equally delightful, as were the potato balls. "It's delicious!"

"If you'd like the rest, you can have it. I'm pretty close to done," Shimako said. She held out the box to Ranma.

"Really? You're the best," Ranma said. She snatched the box, and shoveled the rice and everything else into her mouth. She finished the remainder of the lunch in a few quick bites, leaving only a broad smile on her face. "That was great."

Shimako was hiding her mouth behind her hand, but Ranma could still hear the giggling. Shimako said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it." She took the now scraped-empty box back and stood up. "We had best return to classes. The fifth period will be starting in a few minutes."

They returned back the way they had come, walking around the primary gym, onto a brick path, and eventually making their way into the school building. Inside, they split up. Shimako stepped into one of the restrooms while Ranma took the stairs up to the second floor.

The satisfied glow of food filled Ranma's stomach. While she definitely could have eaten more, Shimako's lunch had been decidedly delicious. The complexity of flavor had been a pleasant contrast to the monotone saltiness of her instant noodles.

That warm feeling was abruptly shoved aside and replaced by feelings of caution and apprehension when she turned the corner at the top of the stairs. Standing outside the door to her classroom was Minako and her two assistants. Ranma could recognize the signs. They were on the lookout.

Ranma had been in the same situation with Genma enough times to know exactly what to do. The first and most important objective was to get away.

She quickly leaped backwards, landing on the second step of the stairs. This caused a girl below her to cry out in surprise, but Ranma didn't let that slow her down. When trying to evade a pursuer, seconds mattered. Any delay would dramatically increase the chances of being caught. She instead made her way down the stairs as fast as she could go without appearing to be in a hurry. Once there, she found the closest corner, glanced behind her to confirm that she had no pursuers in line of sight, and then turned it.

With the immediate danger over, she could afford to slow down a bit and think. She needed to get back to her classroom, but the obvious way was blocked. That left two options. She could go straight through or she could find another way in. Technically there was also a third option as well, in that Ranma could just give up and leave Lillian, but that wasn't really viable. If there was one thing which defined Ranma's character, it was that she did not give up.

A frontal assault was a definite possibility. However, without a distraction of some form, a direct approach to the classroom would certainly result in another confrontation with Minako, and Ranma was not eager for a repeat of the interrogation she had faced in the morning.

The second option was to find an alternate route. Upon consideration, that was definitely the more promising idea. Ranma had left using the window; she could just re-enter using the same portal. She had learned from Shimako that jumping down from the second story was considered unusual, but surely climbing was more commonplace. Climbing was much easier that falling, after all.

With that in mind, Ranma walked back outside and retraced her steps. The building was fairly large, but not so much that it took more than a few seconds to recognize the window she had jumped out from earlier. It was still open.

It was just as easy to climb up as Ranma had known it would be. She braced her foot against the wall, jumped, grabbed some hand holds along the wooden facade of the building, jumped again, and grabbed the open window.

A girl sitting beside the window looked over at the sound. She then screamed. This caused the other girls in the classroom to turn, look, and then join her in screaming.

The only conclusion Ranma could draw was that her reasoning had been in error. It left her feeling frustrated. How was she supposed to have known that going in and out of a window was such a big deal? It had even been wide open; she hadn't needed to pick the lock or anything. She mentally fumed against the unfairness of the challenge that Genma had given her. Then again, as he had said, it was a challenge. It was never meant to be easy.

She quickly pulled herself into the room, flipped forward, and adroitly landed on her feet. She was immediately surrounded.

"What happened?" "What was that?" "Are you crazy?" "What were you thinking?" "Where'd you come from?" and several other questions flooded at Ranma from the pack of girls.

Ami was the girl closest to Ranma, though, if not the most comprehensible. She said, "Ranko-san... that was... that was... very impressive... can you... that is to say... is the..." Ami looked very discombobulated. In exasperation, she turned to her side and exclaimed, "Yoshino-san!"

"Ranko-san," Yoshino said, "I believe what our class representative is trying to say is that it would be preferable if you treated the window as a window and not as a door."

"I'll do that in the future," Ranma said.

Tanezaki walked into the classroom in an bewildered state. She asked, "What's going on in here?Tsukiyama-san, are you causing trouble again."

"No, it wasn't me. She... she..." Minako said from the periphery of the crowd, unable to get any closer due to the throng surrounding Ranma.

Tanezaki pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes as if she had a headache. She said, "Just leave. Classes are starting anyway."

Minako shut her still gaping mouth, turned, and left. Her two companions followed behind her.

Tanezaki looked over to the class, clapped her hands twice, and said, "That's enough. Everybody, back to your seats."

The girls slowly dispersed, and Tanezaki begin her next lesson. It was only a temporary respite, though. Throughout the class, different girl kept darting glances at Ranma. It was like the morning had been, only even more so. She ignored them and focused on the teacher in the front. Encouraging her classmates' interest couldn't have been a good idea.

It didn't do much good, though. As much as Ranma had hoped that things would quiet down and be forgotten, the moment the class started to migrate to the primary gym for PE, she was once again surrounded as everybody clamored for answers. Ranma found herself repeating the same story of training she had told to Shimako earlier; she had told the lie, and she now needed to stick to it lest she be discovered. Consistency was in many ways even more important than plausibility. Her explanation received a variety of reactions, ranging from shock to sympathy.

Except for the questioning from her classmates, which continued even into the changing room, the PE class itself was the same as always. The class had moved on to learning how to serve the ball, but that didn't represent any real change; Ranma could do that blindfolded as well, let alone the weak underhand serves the majority of the class had resorted to. Likewise, the classes after PE were more or less the same as the day before.

It was with some small disappointment, but no surprise, that once classes ended, Ranma saw Minako loitering outside the door. She had successfully evaded Minako earlier, but had not actually defeated her. It was not unexpected that Minako would pursue and re-engage.

In this case, though, unlike at lunch, Ranma did have an easy distraction she could use to avoid the confrontation.

"Sorry. Got to go clean the music room. I'll talk to you later," Ranma said as she walked out the door. She was very careful to keep pace with her classmates as they migrated. If she lost either her momentum or the cover the other girls provided, she had no illusions as to what would happen.

It was a bit of a mixed blessing how quickly they finished their cleaning assignment. The room was straightened, wiped, dusted, vacuumed, and covered in a matter of minutes. While it was good to be done with the chores quickly, it meant that Ranma's excuse to avoid Minako had also been eliminated quickly. Minako was certainly loitering outside the room and would pounce on her the moment she left. She had no pretense of being able to avoid her; it wasn't like she could turn invisible or anything.

On the other hand, the music room did have a window. It was on the ground floor, too. Ranma wasn't sure what the limit of what an ordinary girl did, but this certainly had to fall in that realm. It was as easy and natural as leaving through the back door of a restaurant.

Ranma approached the window, opened it, climbed out, and pulled it shut behind her. She congratulated herself on her cleverness, managing to completely avoid Minako.

"Gokigenyou. Thank you for coming."

Ranma froze. She hadn't expected to be intercepted so easily. She tried to play it casually. The trick when caught by a shopkeeper was to not act suspicious. She turned her head to the side and saw the no-glasses companion of Minako from earlier.

"Hello," Ranma said.

"I'm Mami Yamaguich, with the newspaper club. Do you have a few minutes for some questions?"

"Not really. I have to get to rehearsal, at the Rose Mansion," Ranma said as she turned to walk away. While she wasn't particularly against questions in the abstract, Minako's earlier attempts to pry into her history made her suspicious of what Mami could be asking about.

"Perfect. We can talk as you walk," Mami said. She held a small note pad similar to the one Minako had carried.

Ranma resigned herself to the upcoming interrogation. She would need to concentrate to not end up revealing anything inappropriate.

Mami fell in step, slightly in front of Ranma, and asked, "It sounds like you're going to be in the play?"

"Yes."

"What role are you playing?"

"What are they doing?" Ranma asked, ignoring Mami. Along the side of the building, in plain view, was a small cluster of girls. They were standing beneath the window to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom. One of them was scrambling against the wall.

Ranma felt vindicated. She had been right; climbing up the walls wasn't that unusual.

That feeling melted away, replaced by feelings of appall. The girl pawing at the wall was doing it all wrong. It was like watching a child floundering in the face of a chalkboard with covered with trigonometry equations; it was cute in a way, but it was also a source of dismay.

Something had to be done.

"What?" Mami asked. She looked behind her and saw that Ranma had changed direction. She turned and hastened to catch up.

Ranma recognized the four girls around the wall as being various classmates in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group. She asked, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Ranko-san!" the girl nearest the wall exclaimed.

"Gokigenyou," the second girl said.

"We're sorry. We were just..." the third girl said, trailing off.

"We didn't mean any harm. Please don't tell anybody," the fourth girl said.

"Really?" Ranma asked, sending a pointed glare at the first girl. Her foot was still propped against the wall. She backed away, shamefaced.

Ranma stepped forward and said, "In order to climb up there, you should to put your foot here." Ranma braced her foot against a small outcropping on the side. "Now jump up this way." She leaped up and grabbed a wooden plank with both her hands. "And pull yourself up." After a quick pull up, she had her foot against a different protrusion in the wall. She was now above the heads of the girls below, and she had to look down to address them. "Then just repeat, and you're up." Ranma pushed off from the wall, landed in a crouch behind the group, and stood back up.

"Incredible..." the second girl whispered.

"T... thank you..." the third girl said.

The first girl stepped forward again. She put her foot where Ranma had done so earlier and looked over at Ranma. Ranma nodded back in approval. The girl then gave a tiny jump, nowhere near high enough to reach the wooden plank. She fell back to the ground behind her, giving a small shout as she did so.

"It's a start. Keep working at it and you'll get it eventually. Have fun," Ranma said. She turned back in the direction of the Rose Mansion.

"Shouldn't you be stopping them or something?" Mami asked.

Ranma shrugged. "It's just a bit of harmless fun. The worst thing they can do is break a leg, and that's not that big a deal if you're in a city. It'll heal up eventually," Ranma said. She was then struck by another thought. "Then again, I guess they could break their heads, too." Ranma looked back at the girls behind her, who appeared substantially more pale than before, and loudly said, "Make sure you don't land on your head. That would be bad." She then said to Mami, "There. That should do it."

Ranma resumed her journey to the Rose Mansion. Behind her, she could hear one of the girls saying, "Uhh... maybe this isn't such a good idea..."

"Growing up with only your father must have been a very different experience."

"I don't know," Ranma said. It was the only life she had ever known, on the road all the time, going from city to temple to forest to dojo, scrounging for whatever food they could find, and training her body to be a highly efficient fighting machine. She didn't really have anything to compare it against.

"You mentioned you're going to going to practice, right? Which role did you say you had?"

That seemed like a safe enough topic to discuss. It was public information, after all. Ranma said, "Cinderella."

"Cinderella? Wow. Do you have any past experience acting?"

That question was a bit more personal, and once again caused Ranma to slightly worry. She had pretended to be different people in the various tricks that she and Genma had pulled over the years. That was what she was doing now, if on a larger scale than she had ever done before. However, she wasn't sure if that counted as acting. Regardless of if it did or not, though, it was a bad idea to go into details about it. On the other hand, if she said that she didn't have any past experience, it would certainly cause Mami to question how she had ended up with the part.

Ranma settled for saying an ambiguous, "A bit."

"I see. Is that how you ended up with the starring role of the play?"

"We'll leave that up to your imagination." Sachiko's voice came from behind the pair, causing Mami to startle. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're both needed in the Rose Mansion. Rehearsals will be starting soon, and we mustn't keep the others waiting." Sachiko took Ranma by the hand and started pulling her away.

Ranma was once again reminded of the softness of Sachiko's hands. Despite that, there was a strength of certainty within her steady grip.

Mami called out after them, "Sachiko-san, why did you select Ranko-san as your petite soeur?"

Sachiko looked back and flashed Mami a smile. She then turned forward and sped up ever so slightly.

Ranma was impressed. With a sentence and a smile, Mami had been vanquished. Compared to Ranma's own attempts at ignoring and evading the newspaper club girls, it was a decisive difference. Sachiko's technique of dismissal had been as effective as a well executed judo throw, and Ranma contemplated the demonstration of proficiency she had just seen.

After Mami was out of earshot, Sachiko leaned down to Ranma and said, "It's best to not encourage the members of the newspaper club. They can be most troublesome."

"I'm learning that," Ranma said. She had never had much experience with reporters in her travels, but she was rapidly discovering that she didn't much care for them. She would need to practice her own techniques in preparation for a potential rematch.

Sachiko led Ranma into the Rose Mansion. This time, rather than the climbing the stairs up to the second floor, Sachiko instead brought Ranma to a room to the left of the entrance. It had been set up like a large living room, with several comfortable padded chairs and couches around a coffee table. There was a small pile of unmarked boxes along the back wall of the room, and various stage props could be seen poking out of the open top of one of them.

Inside the room, Youko and Sei were sitting on two plush chairs and talking to each other. Yoshino was present as well, standing near a window and staring out of it. All three of the girls turned at the entrance of Ranma and Sachiko.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou. It's good that you're here. We're still waiting for Rosa Foetida, Rei, and Shimako to arrive, and then we can get started," Youko said.

Sei and Youko turned back to each other and resumed their conversation about some upcoming test. Yoshino returned to casually looking outside the window at the bright autumn day.

Ranma found a place for herself in the corner of the room, leaning back against a table in such a way that she could see everybody else. With nothing else to do, she kept sneaking glances at Yoshino with the same furtive curiosity that her classmates had shown her throughout the day.

No matter how Ranma looked, she just couldn't see it. Yoshino looked like a stereotypical cloistered princess. She was as far a cry from a gutsy fighter as could be imagined. She really looked like she would be perfectly at home sitting in a chair with crochet needle in her hand and a fuzzy cat in her lap. Ranma couldn't picture Yoshino swinging a sword or getting excited over an intense duel, no matter what Shimako had said during lunch.

The first time Yoshino caught Ranma's glance, she met her gaze and turned away. The second time, Yoshino turned and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing," Ranma said. "It's just Shimako-san was saying you're big into martial arts."

"Oh, that?" Yoshino walked across the room to Ranma. "Yes, I am a big fan. Mainly kendo and sumo. Are you also interested?"

"A bit," Ranma said. It was the standard understatement she usually gave anytime anybody asked her about her martial arts.

"Really?" Yoshino's voice raised fractionally, and she spoke ever so slightly faster. "Did you see the Honshu regional kendo tournament last week in Minato ward?"

"No, I missed it," Ranma said. A week ago, she had been swimming across the Sea of Japan.

"That's a shame. It was a great tournament," Yoshino said enthusiastically. "Okido-sensei was in great form. He won even before the finals began. You could tell Takanabe-sensei was intimidated by how easily Okido-sensei dispatched Fukuchi-sensei in the semi-finals. He tried to use his superior reach to fend him off, but Okido-sensei used a low approach to get under his guard. It was over after the first hit. Takanabe-sensei tried to rally, but was was overwhelmed by Okido-sensei's fighting spirit. It was a good example of how the one who moves first is guaranteed victory."

Yoshino's confident assertion rankled Ranma. In her experience, it was actually the reverse. Typically, the person to act was the one who made the mistake and thus lost. There was a reason her fighting style tended to allow, even encourage, the opponent to make the first move. A proper counterattack was always devastating. She said, "No, the person on the defense has the advantage."

"No way. The person who on the attack can choose the terms of engagement and focus their energy into one big strike. When a person is on the defense, they're at the mercy of the attacker," Yoshino said.

"Unless they make a mistake, and they always make a mistake. The person on the defense gets more information on their opponent. They can tailor the perfect counter to whatever attack the attacker has committed to. No matter what the attacker does, they'll leave a hole, and that can always be exploited."

Yoshino decisively disagreed, and the two of them ended up engaging in a long discussion of strategies and the importance of initiative in a fight. Ranma was actually impressed. While it was fairly clear that Yoshino didn't actually have direct experience with fighting, it was also clear that she actually did know what she was talking about. By the time she started referencing examples from recent sumo matches, Ranma was forced to acknowledge that Yoshino had some good points, even if overall she was mistaken.

"Okay, okay. Let's get started everybody." Youko's announcement caught Ranma by surprise. She looked around and saw that the rest of the Yamayurikai had arrived. All of them were watching her and Yoshino's discussion. A look at a clock showed that 15 minutes had passed since Ranma had entered the Rose Mansion. She hadn't even realized.

"Now, do you know the story of Cinderella?" Youko asked Ranma.

Ranma shook her head in response. She had done a lot of reading throughout her travels, but she hadn't encountered that particular story before.

"Okay. Then let me give you a quick summary," Youko said.

Ranma paid close attention. If she was going to play the part, she was going to do it right. This was a challenge, even if it was one which was ancillary to her primary objective of learning the Umisenken. Her pride would allow nothing less than success.

"Cinderella was a young girl with a step-family full of wicked and selfish people. They constantly made fun of her and always forced her to do chores all day. Nevertheless, she was a good girl, and she always did everything that was asked of her and more.

"One day, the prince of the kingdom they lived in decided to hold a big ball. His goal was to find a wife, and so he invited all the single women of the kingdom to it. That included Cinderella's family. However, Cinderella's step-mother and step-sisters forbade Cinderella herself from going.

"On the night of the ball, Cinderella's family all dressed up and left her behind to go to the castle. Cinderella was naturally very saddened by this development, and she cried out in despair.

"A passing wizard happened to hear her and took pity on her. He used his magic to transform her clothes into that of a noblewoman. He also conjured up some horses, servants, and everything else that Cinderella would need to go to the ball. It would only last until midnight, though, and then all of his magic would disappear.

"Cinderella went to the ball, and she charmed everybody there, including the prince. They met, danced, and by the end of the evening, the prince told her that he had fallen in love with her and asked her to stay. Cinderella wanted to, but before she could answer, midnight struck. She remembered the wizard's warning and had to run away before the magic ended.

"Cinderella fled just as the magic ended. In the end, all that was left behind of her was a single slipper she had lost in her haste to escape. The prince found it and vowed to use it to find the lady he had fallen in love with.

"The prince then went around the country, having girls try on that slipper. Eventually he managed to find Cinderella. The slipper fit her and proved that she was the girl from the ball. With that, the prince took Cinderella away from her wicked family and they went back to the castle, where they lived happily ever after."

The room was quiet in the aftermath of Youko's explanation. This was broken when Ranma said, "Cinderella's kind of dumb, isn't she?"

Several of the girls gave a sharp gasp.

"What exactly do you mean?" Sachiko asked deliberately.

Despite being the center of attention, Ranma didn't back down. She said, "Well, why'd she run away? She wanted to stay. Why didn't she just do it?"

"It's complicated," Rei said. "She didn't know how the prince felt about her."

"Yes, she did. The prince outright told her," Ranma said.

"She was pretending to be somebody else. She might have been worried that if the prince knew the truth, then he would change his mind," Shimako said.

"And Cinderella was a commoner, too. She was probably worried that she wasn't worthy of the prince," Eriko said.

"Or that society wouldn't accept them being together," Sei said.

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma said, waving her hand in dismissal of the girls' explanations. "It still seems easy to me. She should have just gone for it. What's the worst that could have happened?"

"Exactly. Those who seize the initiative are guaranteed victory," Yoshino said with a nod.

"Exactly," Ranma said with an answering nod. She then hastily added, "But that's different."

Yoshino's face remained in a grin of smug satisfaction.

"Be that as may, that is how the story goes," Youko said, a bit more loudly than normal. It cut off the tangential conversation. "Now that you know the story, let's go through of the script. Ranko-chan, you are, of course, Cinderella. Rosa Foetida is the step mother. Rosa Gigantea is the king. I'm the queen. Rei is the wizard. Sachiko is Sister B. Shimako is Sister A. Yoshino-chan is Sister C."

Ranma counted in her head and looked around the room. That sounded like everybody had been accounted for. There was one role that hadn't been named, though. She asked, "Then who's going to be the prince?"

"For the rehearsals, Rei has been filling in, but for the actual play, Kashiwagi Suguru will be the prince," Youko said. At Ranma's inquisitive look, she continued, "He's the student council president of Hanadera's Academy for Boys. They're our neighbors, and we frequently work together on things. We helped out their student council last month, and now they're returning the favor."

"Okay," Ranma said. The name meant nothing to her, but Sachiko's reaction had been interesting. She had paled, and flinched ever so slightly. Ranma wondered what it meant.

Whatever it meant, though, it didn't stop Sachiko from walking over and handing Ranma a booklet. The front cover read, "Cinderella (Lillian Private Girls' School version)."

Ranma opened it to the first page and was immediately overwhelmed. Over half of the lines, each highlighted in pink, were hers. Like tiny islands dotting a sea of pink, there were a couple of Sister B's lines highlighted in blue as well. She flipped to the next page, and saw about half of the ones there were for Cinderella's as well. The next page was better, with only a fourth being hers. Then a third. Then another third. It would be a major task to memorize them all.

She slightly lowered the script and looked up. She asked, "I'm supposed to learn all that?"

"Yes. Cinderella is the leading role, after all," Youko said. She turned her head slightly in askance. "Would you like to back out? It's not too late."

Sachiko's breath stuck as she looked at Ranma.

"Heh. You wish," Ranma said. She had never backed away from a challenge before, and she wasn't about to start now.

"Very well. Then let's start our rehearsal. Ranko-chan, whenever you're ready."

"Right," Ranma said, flipping back to the first page. She took a deep breath and started from the top. "It's good that the rain's stopped..."

Somebody had brought some cookies and pastries. It was a testament to how engrossed Ranma had been with talking to Yoshino earlier that she hadn't noticed when they had arrived. Regardless, at some point they had appeared on the coffee table in the center of the room, and everybody took advantage of them as they went through the play.

Unfortunately, Ranma could only lightly partake of them, given how she had a major speaking role throughout almost every scene. Her only real break was in the palace scene, and she took advantage of that brief pause to inhale a couple of snacks as well as to gulp down some cold water Shimako had brought when she had poured some tea for the others.

Eventually they reached the end of the play. Ranma's throat felt dry and scratchy, which was ironic in that the paper in her hands had acquired some damp wrinkles from being held for so long. Talking had never been a major component of Ranma's training trip, and she had said more in the last hour than she would had said in some of the quieter weeks in the past.

"Good job!" several people said.

Ranma wasn't sure why they said so. Her performance had been a stark contrast with the others. Cinderella used a particularly flowery and feminine vernacular which Ranma wasn't very familiar with, let alone comfortable with. She had stuttered, mispronounced, and had outright needed to re-read several lines. In comparison, everybody else had recited their lines from memory except for Yoshino, and she had been decidedly more fluid and natural in her speech than Ranma had been.

Not only was there a great deal to memorize, it was also clear that Ranma had a lot of work to do to even catch up with the others. It was a surprisingly common situation for her to be in.

Youko turned to Ranma and said, "Okay. That's a good start. Be sure to practice before tomorrow. Remember, the festival is a week from Sunday. We're expecting big things from you." Youko then turned to address each of the girls around the room. "Now I fear the members of the festival's executive committee need to take care of some business. Rosa Gigantea, Rosa Foetida, shall we meet upstairs? Rei, can you go check on how the stage is progressing? Sachiko, can you check on the costumes? Shimako, Yoshino-chan, why don't you two work with Ranko-chan and practice the opening scene a bit?"

The different girls all nodded.

"Good job everybody. Thanks for your hard work. Gokigenyou."

Sachiko, Rei, and the third-year students all split away to go to their respective destinations. It left Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako behind in the room. Ranma took the opportunity of the break to finish off the few remaining snacks which had managed to survive to this point.

They went through the first half of the play one more time. For this run through, Shimako said Sister B's part as well as her own, and Yoshino took on the added responsibility of the step-mother's part. Both of them affected a lower-pitch to their voices to emphasize the different roles. Ranma did modestly better on this second attempt, but had no illusions that her performance had been anything close to passable.

They completed the first third of the play before breaking and cleaning up the room. There wasn't that much to clean this time, though. Ranma deftly avoided the responsibility of cleaning the dishes by volunteering to deal with the trash. They were finished after only a couple of minutes.

The late afternoon sun was once again descending the horizon when Ranma and Shimako left Yoshino behind in the Rose Mansion.

"Good work. Gokigenyou," Shimako said at the front entrance to Lillian as she split off in a different direction than Ranma.

"Later," Ranma said in return. She then began the walk back to camp.

The read through had been rough, but that was nothing new. Being the new student and frantically trying to catch up with everybody else was a typical experience for her. It happened in every new school she encountered, martial arts or otherwise. She would not only catch up to but indeed surpass them after a few days of intensive training. It was always the case. 

Her plan was to read the script through once or twice tonight, focusing on the argument with the step-sisters and the meeting with the prince. The rapid and passionate conflict of words with the step-sisters was tricky, and the conversation with the prince had several ornate phrases and language she would need to internalize. However, after a few repetitions, she was confident she would have them figured out. She could memorize 70-step katas like second nature. This couldn't be that much harder.

When Ranma reached the temple, she surreptitiously looked around. Once she was sure the area was clear of spectators, she darted into the campsite. Inside was Genma. He was wearing a pair of black trousers and a buttoned shirt.

"Hurry up and put on something nice. We're eating out tonight," Genma said.

That was something of a pleasant surprise. Ranma did enjoy the opportunity of eating out, which was something they couldn't do too often when they were camped in a single area for a prolonged period of time. It was easy to get a reputation, after all.

The key trick for eating out was to be inconspicuous. She needed to be dressed in such a way as to not draw attention to herself, either by being too shabbily dressed or by being too nicely dressed. That had been made much harder since getting her curse, although it was certainly possible. She took off her school uniform and replaced it with a red shirt and a pair of black trousers.

Genma and Ranma jogged two kilometers away from the temple grounds. It helped work up an appetite, not that either of them needed it. More importantly, it disguised where they had set up their campsite.

Once Genma had deemed that they had traveled far enough, they stopped in at a nondescript Chinese restaurant.

They ordered well and ate with a restraint gusto. There was no fighting over food this time. It wouldn't do to make a scene. Near the end of the meal, at Genma's unspoken signal, Ranma stood up and left the table. She palmed a glass of tea in her hand as she went out the door. About a block away, she sped up to a jog, and about three blocks later, she dodged into an alley and waited. She took the opportunity to pour the tea onto her hand, triggering her transformation.

A minute later, Genma showed up and dodged into the same alley Ranma had.

"That's my boy. Good dinner," Genma said with a hearty laugh. He was half-way through slapping Ranma's back, when he balled his hand into a fist and turned it into a punch. Ranma easily dodged back. It always paid to be a bit on guard whenever Genma was in striking distance.

"Come on, pops. Let's spar later. I got some stuff I gotta study tonight," Ranma said.

"Study? What have I done to be cursed with such a lazy child? You'll study. You'll study my fists!" Genma shouted, launching into another flurry of attacks. Ranma had no choice but to defend himself, although he did take great relish in giving as well as he received.

The fight continued for hours, and it was well into late night when they returned to camp. It was a relief when Ranma was able to finally collapse onto his bedroll once again. As he laid there, though, he remember that he was supposed to have read through the script once or twice. He struggled to sit up, but then looked around. It was far too dark to read anything anyway.

He reasoned to himself that he could just catch up in the morning, flopped back down, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Last Updated: October 1, 2020


	5. New Obstacle

Chapter 5: New Obstacle

Ranma had a plan.

She still had not had a chance to study her copy of the Cinderella script, but that was going to change. There were always a few minutes before classes began, and by leaving early for school, that time could be lengthened. That would give her a chance to at least get a quick skim of the script. More training would definitely have been preferred, but less time was better than no time at all.

As she walked through the streets, the presence of Sachiko's rosary around her neck giving her a sense of comforting reassurance, another thought occurred to her. Over the course of her lifetime of meals with Genma, she had learned to eat everything as fast as humanly possible; the only time food was safe was when it was in her stomach. That meant that she would have the majority of the lunch period free. She could use that time to focus on studying the argument with the step-sisters and the conversation with the prince.

Ranma liked that additional idea, and she made a modest change in her planned route to facilitate it. It would be quick enough to stop by the vending machines on the way to class and spend her sparse lunch money buying some instant noodles in advance. She could then spend the rest of the day in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom, avoiding any interruption during lunch itself.

Despite her relatively early arrival, there were already several students walking around the school grounds of Lillian. As was typical, a couple of girls had paused in front of the statue of the hooded woman, and the demure greetings of "Gokigenyou" splashed on the edges of Ranma's hearing as she walked to the vending machines. Two of those greetings were directed at Ranma herself, one of them accompanied by a small bow. Despite not recognizing the faces of those girls, Ranma still gave a small nod of her head back to them in acknowledgement.

The vending machines were just as bereft of students as they always were; Ranma never having seen anybody else visiting them in the past. She had her cups of instant noodles bought in a few seconds. Everything was exactly as she had expect it to be.

And then her plan completely fell apart.

Minako was loitering just outside of the door to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom, and she was looking back and forth, just as she had the day before. There was a every reason to suspect that she would interfere with Ranma's attempts at early morning studying. Her presence was a possibility that Ranma hadn't considered, although in hindsight she should have, considering all the trouble she and Mami had given her the day before.

Annoyance and worry vied for control of Ranma's emotions, and in the end, they compromised on an even split.

Ranma considered taking the window entrance again. However, after the ruckus it had caused the day before, that seemed like an imprudent choice to make. That left her with two options. The first option was to give up and go back to camp, but giving up was just as unacceptable now as it had been the day before. That only left the second option of taking the direct approach, and its associated confrontation with Minako.

"Gokikenyo. Can I have a minute of your time?" Minako asked as Ranma approached.

"No. I'm busy."

"Don't be like that. Everybody's interested in you. Lillian is an elevator school, and we don't get many transfer students here, you know?" Minako asked. She entered the classroom right behind Ranma.

Taking to heart Sachiko's advice of not encouraging the members of the newspaper club, Ranma remained quiet as she took out her copy of the script of Cinderella, put away her book bag, and sat down in her seat.

Minako just continued speaking, irrespective of the silence. She said, "You just sweep into Lillian, become Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur, and even get the starring role in the upcoming play the Yamayurikai is doing. All that in just two days. When you stop and think about it, it really is incredible, isn't it?"

Ranma turned to the first page of the script.

"Interest in the play is way up. The people want to know more. Who is this mysterious real-life Cinderella who will be taking center stage? Come on. Help them out. What's your favorite food? What's your blood type? What kind of music do you like? What do you do in your free time? What's your life motto?"

It was no good. With Minako's talk distracting her, Ranma could barely even read her lines, let alone concentrate on trying to understand and memorize them. Apparently just ignoring Minako would not be a successful strategy. Therefore Ranma did what was natural for a practitioner of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts: she improvised. If something wasn't working, then try something else, especially if that something else involved stealing the techniques from somebody else.

On the walk from the classrooms to the Rose Mansion the day before, she had been in a similar situation, with Mami asking numerous questions. Ranma thought back to what Sachiko had done to remove her. That strategy had proven to be successful, and it was worth a try.

Ranma said, "I'll leave that up to your imagination."

"That's your life motto?" Minako asked.

Ranma just smiled in return, and then turned back to her script. Based on what had happened with Sachiko and Mami, that would be enough to dismiss Minako.

"Right..." Minako said. She scratched more words down on her small notepad.

Ranma's hopes of a quick success were dashed away, though, when Minako remained at her desk and asked, "What drew you to Lillian in particular?"

It was a bit disappointing that Minako hadn't left, but it was natural that the first time a technique was tried, it wouldn't be perfect. That was the whole point of practicing. Ranma tried again.

"I'll leave that up to your imagination."

"Why did you jump out of the window yesterday?"

Ranma smiled and turned back to her script.

"Where did you learn to climb like that?"

"I'll leave that up to your imagination." Ranma was getting disheartened. It seemed like her technique was flawed. She would keep at it, but it would probably require another observation of Sachiko's technique in use to properly learn it. She would need to watch Sachiko more closely next time.

"Is that your natural hair color?"

Smile.

"What are your three measurements?"

"I'll leave that up to your imagination."

Minako continued to pepper Ranma with questions, each one more provocative than the last. Ranma stuck to her line, though, and focused on trying to dismiss the older girl. After several minutes, it eventually seemed to work.

"Thank you for your time. Gokigenyou," Minako said. She turned and walked out of the room.

Ranma gave a sigh of relief. That was one trial done. Now she could get back to her script studying. She was still on the very first page, having been unable to make any progress throughout the interrogation. Her eyes returned to the top of it.

She had only just gotten to the bottom of the page, though, when she was interrupted again, this time by Ami's announcement. "Stand. Bow."

Frustrated, Ranma closed the booklet and did what was asked. Her plan to study in the morning had been a failure. She still had lunchtime, though. She should be able to get in at least one read through then. She put her concerns aside as the morning classes started.

When lunch came around, Ranma pulled both her instant noodles and her script out of her book bag. No sooner had she opened the first package, though, when Mami appeared at her side. While she was less directly confrontational than Minako had been, the younger girl did continue the trend of peppering Ranma with questions and was just as resistant to Ranma's attempts at dismissal as Minako had been. Between that and trying to eat lunch, Ranma was even less successful in her script studies than she had been in the morning.

She still had one last hope, though. There would be a few minutes while the Yamayurikai gathered after classes. She could maybe do some frantic cramming for a few minutes at least. She could dash to the Rose Mansion and maybe have time for the briefest of skims through the meeting with the prince. Given the short time frame, she would need to prioritize, and she figured she had had at least a bit of practice with Yoshino and Shimako on the argument scene with the step-family already.

The afternoon classes, even the gym class, seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. The after-class cleaning did as well, in large part because Ranma was intentionally hurrying through her task. Right after she finished dusting off the chalkboard erasers, though, a short musical chime played over the school speaker system.

"First-year Chrysanthemum Group, Ranko Sugita-san, please come to the guidance office immediately. I repeat..."

The girls in the classroom all turned to Ranma. A few asked a moderate, "Ehh?"

"... First-year Chrysanthemum Group Ranko Sugita-san, please come to the guidance office immediately."

Worry and guilt flashed through Ranma, despite the fact that she couldn't actually think of anything wrong she had done. The day had been completely non-notable. The only thing she had done was ignore Minako and Mami, and there couldn't have been anything wrong with that. Could there?

Given that, then, there was only one thing which Ranma could think of that would warrant her being called to the guidance office in such a manner: the headmistress and teachers had discovered "Ranko Sugita" was a fraud, and she was about to be expelled from Lillian. Never mind that she had thought that she had been doing a good job hiding in plain sight. She must have made a mistake somewhere. That explanation was definitely more likely than Minako having some secret sway over the school administration and using that secret sway to put additional pressure on her. Unfortunately.

There was nothing to be done for it besides go to the guidance office and face whatever consequences she bore. She would be kicked out of the school and fail the Umisenken training. Hopefully Genma would offer her a second chance. Even better would be if he didn't insult and mock her too much for the failure, although she held little hope for that.

"Yoshino-san, could you show me where that is?" Ranma asked.

"Of course."

Yoshino accompanied Ranma out the door. They weren't the only two, either. About half of the class tagged along behind then. Upon reaching the hallway, the crowd immediately started to grow.

"Ranko-san. Gokigenyou."

Ranma didn't even need to look to confirm it was Minako. She was loitering by the side of the door, just like the day before.

"Why'd you get called to the guidance office? What's going on?" Minako asked, falling into step to the side of Ranma.

"I'll leave that up to your imagination," Ranma said perfunctorily. It hadn't worked in the morning, and it hadn't worked in the afternoon, but she didn't see any harm in trying yet again.

"So you're being expelled?" Minako asked eagerly, incidentally re-raising the same stab of worry that Ranma had already been thinking.

"If that happens, I'm sure you'd be the first one to know," Yoshino said from the other side of Ranma. She sped up her walking speed, allowing Ranma to do the same.

The crowd continued to grow throughout the trip, as such things were wont to do. Here a couple of girls would divert from the hallway and join in to see what the spectacle was about, and there a few girl would exit from their classroom and fold themselves in with the others. The net result was a collection of several dozen girls hovering a semi-respectful distance away when Yoshino finally brought Ranma to a set of double-doors above which was a sign reading, "Guidance Office."

One of the two doors pushed open, and Tanezaki looked out. She said, "Ahh, Sugita-san, you've arrived. Please come in." She pushed the door more fully open.

Ranma walked in. Inside was the headmistress, who was sitting behind a wooden desk. Behind her stood a man and a woman, neither of whom Ranma recognized. The man was middle-aged and balding. He wore a pair of glasses, a shirt, a tie, and a jacket. The woman was also middle-aged. She wore a black tunic, a white collar, a white coif, and a black veil, just like the headmistress did.

Tanezaki pulled the door closed behind Ranma.

"Gokigenyou. Please, have a seat," the headmistress said.

Ranma sat down on a plain chair in front of the desk while Tanezaki stepped around to stand behind the headmistress.

"Do you know why we called you here?" the headmistress asked.

Yes. "No."

"There's a story going around the school that you jumped out the window of your classroom yesterday," the headmistress said.

Ranma immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Now that she knew what the meeting was about, she felt substantially better. This was yet another manifestation of the jump and climb she had done the day before. It seemed like she had not only underestimated how big a deal that action had been, she had critically underestimated it.

"Oh, that?" Ranma asked casually. If she played it off as being unimportant, it was much more likely to be treated as being unimportant.

"So it's true?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said.

"Whatever possessed you to do something so dangerous?" Tanezaki asked.

"It isn't really," Ranma said.

"What isn't?" Tanezaki asked.

"It's not really that dangerous," Ranma said. Some of her earliest memories were bruised shoulders and broken legs, but it had been years since that had last happened.

The four adults all looked at each other in skepticism, and ended up looking at Tanezaki in the end. She shrugged back in confusion.

"Sugita-san," the middle-aged woman asked gently, as if Ranma were a misguided child or an angry lunatic, "What do you mean when you say it's not that dangerous?"

Ranma again repeated the story of training to avoid newspaper reporters a third time. She couldn't change her story now. Consistency was vital when trying to avoid having a lie be discovered. The adults had likely learned of the jump and the climb from a student, and it was very possible that they would turn around and repeat whatever Ranma said back to that student.

"Are you really trying to tell us that your father taught you how to jump from five meters in the air to avoid newspaper reporters? And you expect us to believe that?" the middle-aged man asked angrily.

Genma had actually taught Ranma to jump from considerably higher. That didn't seem like the most prudent thing to say, though, so she instead said, "Yeah. I mean, I can do it again and show you."

The man said, "You'll do nothing of the kind. It's entirely improper for a young lady to act in such a reckless way. It's ridiculous that..."

The headmistress gave a pointed cough and directed a look up at the man. He bristled but fell quiet. She then looked back at Ranma and said, "I'm sure that won't be necessary. In fact, I'm afraid we must insist that you refrain from doing that from now on. I believe you are now a member of the Yamayurikai. Therefore, you will need to act as a role model, as the other students will have a tendency to imitate you. Even if it is easy for you to do, it would be much more dangerous for the others."

"Sure," Ranma said. It was the same realization that she herself had come to the day before. A broken arm or leg wasn't that important, but a bad fall on the head could be a much bigger deal. Without somebody like Genma to help with the early steps of training, it could be disastrous.

"In that case, I see no reason to further detain you. Gokigenyou," the headmistress said.

Ranma stood up, walked to the door, and pushed it open. It moved with a smooth and slow motion; the door was much more dense and massive than appearances would suggest. It swung outward, and Ranma was greeted by the sound of Minako giving a forced laugh. The crowd of girls had only shrunk a small amount since Ranma's entry.

They all turned to look at Ranma as she stepped out.

Minako almost literally pounced on her. She asked, "What did they want to talk to you about?"

"They were probably just checking on how Ranko-san was settling in," Yoshino said.

Minako sent her a dirty look and then said to Ranma, "They wouldn't have raised this big a fuss for something so ordinary, so what's the story here?"

Ranma could have used the ready excuse that Yoshino had provided, but based on what the headmistress had said, she felt like she had a larger responsibility. She addressed the wider crowd, including Minako, and said, "They just told me that we shouldn't be jumping out of windows."

There was some nervous laughter from a few of the girls Ranma didn't recognize. The ones in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group mostly just nodded in response.

"Really?" Minako asked.

"Basically," Ranma said.

"Basically? Then there's more. What else was there?" Minako asked.

Ranma floundered. She could have told of the adults' skepticism of her, but she didn't see that as being anybody else's business. Additionally, after only a single day of interacting with her, she was already sure that Minako wouldn't settle for that alone. Bereft of any other ideas, Ranma just said, "I'll leave that up to your imagination."

Yoshino stepped partway between Ranma and Minako. She said, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're already late for our practice. Gokigenyou."

Ranma took the opportunity Yoshino provided and started walking with her down the hallway.

Most of the crowd stayed behind, but Minako did keep following them. She kept asking questions as they left the building and made their way to the Rose Mansion, but Ranma refused to answer, and the light distraction of Yoshino's presence prevented Minako from pressing harder.

As they walked, Ranma's balance of worries shifted. In proportion to her proximity to the Rose Mansion, Ranma's concern about the upcoming rehearsal grew, and her concern about Minako shrank. She was in big trouble, and she knew it. Despite her best efforts, she had not been able to do any real studying of the script since the day before. She couldn't even do any frantic last-minute cramming due to her already being late for the practice session.

It wasn't the first time Ranma had engaged in a confrontation for which she had not been prepared, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last time, either. While the result might have been a foregone conclusion, there was still nothing to be done for it but to push forward and take the proverbial beating she deserved.

As they approached the Rose Mansion, Minako peeled away and left, eliminating that particular worry for the immediate future. Ranma wasn't sure what had caused it, but she did note it as an interesting phenomenon for later consideration.

Ranma and Yoshino entered the Rose Mansion, and they were greeted by the clamor of the Yamayurikai talking from the side room in which they had practiced the day before. Inside, Youko and Eriko were digging through some boxes and handing out various props. The other girls were examining and donning the different accessories. Rei had a fake beard hanging on her face, and Sachiko and Shimako were comparing a couple of broaches. Youko had just put a tiara with some large embedded gemstones on her head when Ranma and Yoshino entered.

"Hello," Ranma said.

"Gokigenyou," Yoshino said.

"Gokigenyou."

Ranma's eyes naturally drew themselves to the cake on the coffee table. There were a few small plates and forks lined up next to it. Several half-eaten slices were already circling the edge of the table. Ranma walked over to it and cut a generous slice of cake for herself.

Eriko put down the bracelet she was examining and said to Ranma, "You've been here for less than a week and get called into the guidance office. I've never been called there myself, so I'm kind of envious of you."

Youko looked more worried, though. She asked, "For what reason were you called? Is everything alright?"

"It wasn't anything too special," Ranma said. She used a fork to tip her cake slice onto a plate. "It was just some talk about what happened yesterday."

"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?" Sachiko asked.

Ranma considered keeping quiet about it, but there was no point. The story had already spread throughout the school to the extent that even the teachers had heard it. It was only a matter of time before Sachiko and the others heard it as well.

"I jumped out of a window to avoid Minako-san."

"You what?" Sachiko, Youko, and Sei all exclaimed.

Yoshino and Rei exchanged a glance and a nod.

Ranma sighed. She was getting tired of explaining the same thing over and over. Surely this had to be the last time. She put her fork down on her plate next to her cake slice and turned to address Sachiko and the others. Yet again she began the story of how she had trained to avoid newspaper girls.

Once Ranma finished her explanation, the room was quiet for a second as they processed what she had said. Ranma took advantage the pause to pick up her plate again and finally start eating her cake with gusto.

Sei shook her head and said, "That's quite the story. Rosa Foetida, I believe an error in judgment may have been had. It seems to me that Ranko-chan would be more suited as Rosa Foetida en bouton."

Eriko smiled and nodded. She said, "I quite agree, Rosa Gigantea. That does seem like it would be most appropriate." She turned to Ranma and asked, "Would you like to change? You know, I am the one who brought the cake today." She gave a conspicuous wink at Ranma.

Ranma froze with her fork in her mouth. Eriko's offer was certainly interesting to consider; she was the second of the three girls that Genma had suggested Ranma befriend. If there was a way to get close to her, too, it certainly had to be a good thing to do. However, it would be pointless to switch if it left her situation fundamentally the same as it currently was. Would switching somehow ruin things with Sachiko?

"Alas, what would become of poor Rei? Abandoned by her Onee-sama. Rosa Foetida, how could you be so cruel?" Youko asked. The content of her words was contrasted by the smile on her face.

"You are most considerate, Rosa Chinensis. In that case, I would propose a trade. I believe that Rei would be an acceptable Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur," Eriko said.

"Before I could even begin to entertain such a motion, I would need to know in what state that would place Yoshino-chan. Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur petite soeur?" Youko asked.

"Surely she would be Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur en bouton, would she not?" Sei asked. She turned to Sachiko. "As Rosa Chinensis en bouton, I believe you have a great deal of say in this matter. What do you prefer?"

"I prefer that you kindly stop teasing Ranko," Sachiko said loudly.

Sachiko's comment jolted Ranma out of her considerations. She had been trying to determine if switching would somehow ruin things with Sachiko, but had not been able to make any progress on how to even approach the question.

Sei looked at Ranma. She then raised a hand vertically in front of her face in apology and said, "Sorry, sorry."

"Sachiko is correct, of course. The afternoon is quickly passing, and as we are now all present, we really should get started with our practice. If you would be so kind as to begin, Ranko-chan?" Youko asked.

Ranma stuffed the last bite of cake into her mouth and fumbled around in her book bag for the script as she chewed. She swallowed hard, took a quick gulp of water, and opened to the first page. The time of judgment was at hand.

To call the second read through a disaster would be an overstatement, but it was certainly leaning in that direction. Ranma stumbled and stuttered through numerous lines of dialogue, and the "wa"s she said at the end of her sentences felt more like an afterthought than a natural speech pattern. And that was the first half of the play. Starting at the scene with the wizard, it just got worse.

Ranma had only just finished saying the last line of the play when Youko turned to her and asked, "Is that really the best you can do?"

It was time to face the consequences.

"I messed up. I know. I know. But I can do better next time, no problem," Ranma said. It hadn't been her fault. She would have studied, but Genma, Minako, Mami, and the school administration had all conspired to stop her.

"Next time? The play is next week. We don't have that many 'next times' left. Are you sure you're going to be ready?"

Ranma didn't need the prodding. She had always prided herself on being the best at whatever she did, and her incompetent performance galled her. She would find some way to succeed, no matter what it took.

"Yeah, easy," Ranma said. Flexibility, adaptability, and figuring out something which worked in the end were her strongest skills. She would find some way to manage, even if she didn't know what that some way would be. She had learned how ride a bicycle on one wheel while detaching the other and throwing it like a giant discus at an opponent. She could learn this, too.

"Very well. Then we'll hold you to that. You'll need to study on your own for a while. We have practice with the dance club tomorrow in the secondary gym; we've already rescheduled it from earlier this week, and we can't afford to delay it any longer," Youko said. She turned to Sei and Eriko. "Rosa Foetida. Rosa Gigantea. We need to discuss the Third-year Peach Group's request. Shall we meet up in the conference room?"

"Let's," Eriko said. Sei nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Ranko-chan, you know what you need to study, so please do so. Take the help of whoever you'd like. Everybody else, if you aren't needed with Ranko-chan, you can join us in the executive committee meeting, or continue sorting out the props here. It's up to you. Besides that, we'll meet tomorrow in the secondary gym. Gokigenyou."

The Three Roses took their leave and walked up the creaky staircase to the second floor.

Ranma scratched the back of her head in confusion. Youko's declaration had pulled the proverbial wind out of her sails. She had expected a long lambasting, full of bombastic language and colorful metaphors. The lack of one left her unsure of what had just happened.

"So that's it?" Ranma asked.

"What do you mean?" Sachiko asked.

"Rosa Chinensis. She just... left. No shouting or anything else," Ranma said. It was the most gentle castigation she had ever received, if it could even be considered a castigation. It somehow felt too easy.

"For?" Sachiko asked.

"For failing," Ranma said. She could imagine Genma's reaction in the same situation.

"Why would she do that? You said you'd be ready. That is unless you're saying we shouldn't trust you?"

Considering how Ranma was actively lying to them all about who she was and what she was trying to accomplish, there was an obvious answer to Sachiko's question.

Yes. "No."

"Then there you go," Sachiko said. "So, what would you like to practice today then?"

Ranma scratched the back of her head and scrunched up her face in thought. She didn't have a specific plan, and she needed to think one up quickly. She had slightly less practice with the second half of the play, so it seemed natural to focus on that for a start. She said, "Uhh... I guess I should practice the scene with the wizard and the ball scene with the prince, so I can use Rei..sama's help. I guess that's it for now."

"In that case, I shall continue sorting through the props in here. If you need anything, let me know," Sachiko said.

"I'll help out, too," Yoshino said.

"Then I shall go and check if there is anything The Three Roses need assistance with," Shimako said.

Ranma began practice by crying out in despair, cuing the entrance of Rei as the wizard. The exchange between Cinderella and the wizard went as poorly as Ranma had expected it would. They then proceeded to the ball. It was with some relief at that point that Rei pulled out her copy of the script. It was purely psychological, but it did feel better to Ranma to not be the only one who was reading out her lines.

The session as a whole was a slog. Ranma tripped over Cinderella's feminine language as often as not. Combined with the earlier run through the whole play, practice went on for longer than the previous day's had, too. By the end, she felt decidedly tired, albeit tired in a somewhat novel way. Her mouth felt dry, and her throat had a bit of rawness to it. She had said more words in the past three days than she had in the previous three weeks. During her training trip, she had rarely discussed too much with Genma during their long hikes around the countryside, the two of them instead doing most of their communication using their fists.

By the time they finished, the room had been cleaned and straightened up. Yoshino was sitting on one of the chairs and was reading a book, and Sachiko was nowhere to be seen. Ranma had the vague recollecting of Sachiko bidding them a good evening and leaving some time earlier. She was also fairly sure that Shimako and The Three Roses had departed earlier as well.

"Good job. You're getting better," Rei said. While true, that was only because "better" was a relative term.

"It's getting late. We should get going. Yoshino?" Rei asked. The sun was low in the sky, and hints of orange had entered its light.

Yoshino gave a hum of agreement, closed her book, and stood up.

Ranma thought she recognized the cover of Yoshino's book. She asked, "Is that 'Confusion?'"

"This?" Yoshino asked, waving her book. "Yes, it is. Do you read Shoutarou Ikenami too?"

"Yeah. I love his books," Ranma said. There were few things to do when hiking through the wilderness, and books were one of the few portable forms of entertainment she had access to. "'Confusion' was good. I think it was my favorite one since 'Shinano Daimyou.'"

"Yes. That's a good one, too," Yoshino said with a nod. "I own his whole collection. Did you notice how much more polished he gets in his later works?"

"Yeah. His pacing gets a lot better. I love his descriptions, too."

"I agree. I can almost hear the clash of swords in all his fights," Yoshino said. "What did you think of his screenplay, 'Human Sword Hanjiro?'"

"Hmm? Which one?" Ranma asked. She hadn't heard of that before.

"'Human Sword Hanjiro.' It was published in 'Asahi Performing Arts,' in Showa 39."

"I haven't read that one," Ranma said. Her access to books had always been limited, due to both her frequently being in the wilderness and the size limit of her pack. She had read and reread the various books she could carry from the towns they passed by until their pages had turned yellow.

"You haven't? You really have to. I'll loan you my copy tomorrow," Yoshino said.

"Alright," Rei said, interrupting. "It's getting late, and we should get going. You two can talk on the way to the bus."

Ranma hesitated. If she returned back to camp, she knew exactly what would happen. It would be the same as the day before. Genma would certainly begin her martial arts training once again, and another day would be gone.

In ordinary circumstances, Ranma would have loved to forget everything and just engage in some vigorous sparring, but this was not ordinary circumstances. She knew she was already in danger. There had been less yelling and insults than when Genma realized Ranma's failures, but in the end, Youko was committed to having the play be successful. Ranma was sure what would happen if she failed to deliver. Sachiko would be forced to resume her role, and that would signal the end of their so-called friendship.

There was nothing to be done but to just stay around the school to study. The lighting was better here, anyway, and it was definitely warmer, too. She was willing to put off a few days of regular martial arts practice in order to accomplish the special training for the Umisenken. Besides, her own pride rankled at her that all of the others were better than her. She was the best, and she would prove it yet again.

"No, you two go ahead. I think I'm going to stay here for a while. I got some stuff I need to do," Ranma said.

Yoshino and Rei exchanged a glance. Rei then said, "Are you sure? I don't know if your father ever told you, but it's not always safe for a young lady to walk around at night by herself."

Ranma scoffed at the idea. If anything, Genma had taught her the exact opposite, mocking her any time she showed the least bit of fear of anything. Besides, she was sure she could handle anything in the area. She said, "Yeah, I'm sure."

Yoshino and Rei exchanged another glance. Then Yoshino hesitantly said, "Okay, if you're sure."

"Then we'll be leaving first. Don't stay too late. Gokigenyou," Rei said.

"Later."

Ranma was left alone.

The Rose Mansion felt larger and emptier than it had before. It had had an excited busyness with all eight of the Yamayurikai earlier. That had morphed into a quiet companionship when it had been reduced to three girls. The departure of Yoshino and Rei effected yet another transition, and now it felt like the solitude of an empty forest path in a lonely evening.

Ranma walked back to the conference room on the second floor. That room was better placed to catch the fading late afternoon sunlight, and she had always had a proclivity for heights, regardless. She sat down at her choice of seat around the large table, picked up her copy of the script, and began the effort she had originally expected to do the previous afternoon: a full cover to cover review of everything. There was a lot of work to do.

Ten pages into the read through, she heard the front door open. It was quiet, but in the silence surrounding her, the sound carried well enough for her ears to take notice.

"You have got to be kidding me," Ranma said quietly to herself. Minako had turned around earlier, but apparently she had overcome her reluctance of entering the Rose Mansion.

More loudly, Ranma shouted, "Go away!" She then went back to her reading.

Ranma's shout was met by a loud creak of the stairs. She sighed to herself. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. If Minako had been willing to post sentries outside of the classroom windows, a simple shout wouldn't be enough to deter her. Ranma had no better ideas of what to do, though, so just repeated, "I said, 'Go away!'"

"That's not a very nice thing to say." It wasn't Minako.

Ranma turned and saw Sachiko entering the conference room.

"Oh. Uhh... I thought you were Minako-san," Ranma said.

"I see. All of the reporters from the Lillian Kawaraban can be troublesome, but Minako-san can be particularly persistent," Sachiko said.

"A pain is what she is," Ranma said. Sachiko gave a wry smile at the description. "What are you doing back here?"

"I left my bag here by mistake," Sachiko said. She lifted the book bag she carried to highlight her words. "What are you doing here?"

"It's the only place I could find to get some quiet. I need to study." Ranma said. She lifted her script to give Sachiko a better look in return.

"You can't do that at home?"

"It's complicated," Ranma said.

Sachiko got a slightly pained look on her face. She said, "I understand."

When Sachiko didn't say anything more, Ranma went back to studying her script.

A few seconds later, Sachiko asked, "How long do you think you're going to be here?"

Ranma looked up again. She said, "I don't know. However long I need, I guess." Practice always had something of a nebulous timeline and goal. It was one of the reasons she was so accepting of Genma's lack of concrete details in the Umisenken training. Vague instructions and obscure objectives were as typical as not.

"I see," Sachiko said. She then left the door to walk back downstairs. The sound of her footsteps faded away through the quiet building.

Ranma returned to her script once again. She was at the part where the holding of the ball was being announced. It would take considerably more time to even read through the rest of the script, let alone re-reading and re-re-reading the trickier sentences strewn throughout the booklet. That wasn't even counting the time needed to actually memorize the thing. It would definitely be at least several hours of practice this evening.

In the background, Ranma could hear Sachiko's muffled voice saying something, but it was too quiet to make out, and Ranma disregarded it.

Two pages later, Ranma heard the creak of the stairs for a third time. She looked at the door in curiosity as Sachiko walked in yet again.

"What kind of grande soeur would I be if I left my petite soeur here all on her own?" Sachiko asked. She turned on the lights in the room and walked inside. She then took a seat on the other side of the table and pulled out a book from her book bag.

Ranma shrugged and went back to her studies.

The two girls didn't talk. Ranma's only real interaction with Sachiko was her occasional glance up to see her checking her textbook and writing out something on some paper. Nevertheless, the addition of Sachiko somehow filled the space of the empty room and made it feel far less abandoned than it had before. It had transformed the ambiance from one of a lonely dark path through the forest to instead be one of a quiet trail on a bright afternoon.

Ranma eventually stretched and stood up. The blackness of the night outside gave no indication of what time it was. The light ache in her back and shoulders suggested she had been sitting immobile for hours.

"Are you finished?" Sachiko asked, looking up at Ranma.

"Yeah. I think I got enough in for today," Ranma said. She moved her arms in wide circles, trying to work the kinks out of her shoulders.

"Good job. Thanks for all your hard work," Sachiko said. She closed her book and put it away.

Ranma picked up her script. As she did so, she noticed something written on the back. She asked Sachiko, "Why's your name written here?" She pointed at the small characters written in tidy pen strokes.

"Hmm?" Sachiko asked and looked over. "That's because that was my copy of the script."

"Yours? You don't need it anymore?"

"I don't have any use for it. I already memorized the whole thing, and I checked Sister B's part two days ago for a refresher."

"Really?" Ranma asked. She slid the booklet into her book bag.

"Yes. I have a lot of practice. I used to take acting classes."

"Hmm..." Ranma murmured.

Sachiko led the way out of the room, with Ranma turning off the lights behind them.

"What do you think of Lillian so far?" Sachiko asked as they walked down the stairs.

"It's fine," Ranma said. Nobody had tried to outright kill her, which she considered to be a good thing. It was somewhat unusual, though. In every other school she had attended, she had gotten into a fight by now. It could have been something common, like karate or kendo, or something less well known, like shot put or flying trapeze, but she had always been involved in some kind of fight very quickly, usually on the first day. Ranma kept waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop, and its absence left her feeling somewhat more jumpy than normal.

Sachiko opened the door to the outside, and Ranma left first. It was with no small amount of relief that Ranma noticed that Minako and the others were not present. It was a bit of a disappointment as well, though. She could use another example of Sachiko confronting a newspaper girl so she could better examine her techniques.

The only lights around the area were the occasional lamps along the path. It gave the entire campus a spooky feeling of abandonment as Ranma and Sachiko walked side by side to the front entrance of Lillian.

"How does Lillian compare to your previous school? I heard things here are a bit different than other places," Sachiko asked as they moved from one small pool of light through the darkness to the next small pool of light.

It was that question again, the same question which Ranma had been evading over and over ever since coming to Lillian. She tried to turn it around. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything. It's natural for a grande soeur to want know more about her petite soeur, isn't it? And how else are we supposed to get to know each other unless we get to know each other? Our introduction might have been a bit unorthodox, but I do want to at least try to act the part. Besides, I'm curious what life is like in other schools. I've only ever attended Lillian, just like my mother and grandmother before me."

Ranma was naturally a private person, but Sachiko's request did sound like a reasonable one. Additionally, Genma had said to solidify her relationship to Sachiko. Ranma decided to open up a little bit. Only a little bit. It would be bad if she accidentally revealed something she shouldn't.

"Lillian's pretty different than the last school I went to. Back there, everything was determined by dressage competitions."

"Dressage?" Sachiko asked in surprise. "You mean that horse riding exhibition?"

"Yes," Ranma said. An exhibition was certainly an appropriate term to use. Martial Arts Dressage was one of the more showy forms of combat Ranma had learned. Riders and their horses stalking, throwing, and otherwise attacking each other in a desperate fight to dismount and subdue their opponents. "The student council was made up by the students who won the most challenges."

It had been quite the experience. After an altercation on the first day, she had found herself thrust on top of a horse, and had been promptly dismounted and almost trampled by her opponent. Her subsequent matches were equally bad, with her losing time and again until she had ended up at the bottom of the rankings. It had taken days of special training before she had finally cracked the trick and formed a rapport with her horse. Thereafter, her years of experience with martial arts made the subsequent combats easy. She crushed rider after rider and had gotten about 2/3 through the ranks, to the point that she had caught the interest of the student council, before Genma had pulled her out of the school for their next trip.

"Really? You must be making that up," Sachiko said.

"Nope. They had this big arena in the center of the school, and the highlight of the day was the competitions after classes ended," Ranma said. It was always good to get intelligence on your future opponents. "Anybody could issue a challenge, and if you beat somebody higher ranked than you, you could take over their position, all the way up to the student council itself."

"That seems like a very odd way to organize a school. How did you do?" Sachiko asked. They were nearing the front entrance of Lillian.

"I did fine," Ranma said. There was no reason to reveal that she had been considered the rising star rookie; it was impossible to tell who would be a future opponent, and it was always good to be underestimated in a fight.

"That sounds exciting. I used to be really interested in horses when I was young. You'll need to show me what you can do one of these days."

"Sure."

The pair emerged from the main entrance of the school. On the other side of the nearly empty street, there was a large black car parked beneath a streetlight. Ranma didn't know car makes or models, but the pretty, young woman in uniform who stepped out of the driver's door suggested that the car was an expensive one.

"That's my chauffeur," Sachiko said, nodding over in her direction. "Would you like me to give you a ride home?"

Ranma minutely tensed. Sachiko couldn't be allowed to know the truth: that Ranma was only going to be here for a few weeks for some strange esoteric training regiment. Allowing her to discover that Ranma was camping in a small temple with her father would certainly be a good way to scare her off.

"No, no no. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It's getting late, and the buses and trains will be pretty empty at this hour. I'm not sure if your father ever told you, but there can be some unsavory people riding on them."

Ranma scoffed again. The idea that anybody in the city could be a danger to her was just as laughable now as when Yoshino and Rei had suggested it earlier. She said, "It's fine."

"As you like, then," Sachiko said. "Gokigenyou."

"Later."

Sachiko walked to the car. The chauffeur opened the door for her, and she entered using the same grace she always exhibited. The chauffeur closed the door and returned to the front.

Ranma watched the car leave, making sure it was not turning around to follow her. Once the road was empty again, she began her own walk back to camp.

Lights were more common on the main road than they had been within the campus of Lillian, and it was easy for Ranma to make her way back to the small temple she currently called home. Once there, she gave a cursory check around. She didn't expect to see anybody at this late hour, and if there was a spectator, the darkness would have masked much of her movement anyway. However, there was always a chance, and a check around just took a few seconds.

After confirming the area was as empty as initial impressions had suggested, she made her way over the foliage. As she entered the campground, Genma asked, "Where were you, boy?"

There were multiple answers Ranma could have given. She had been at school. She had been studying. There was only one she could think of which would cut off the inevitable argument Genma would give, though. She said, "I was with Ogasawara."

Genma nodded, faintly seen in the dim reflected light from the city surrounding them. He said, "Fine. Hurry up and get changed. We got training to do. Can't have you getting lazy now."

Ranma had already begun taking off her neckerchief, and fractionally sped up at Genma's prompting. She asked, "What about dinner?"

"All gone. Come back earlier next time," Genma said. He picked at his teeth.

Ranma was as disappointed as she was unsurprised. Genma stole Ranma's food even when she was present. She had vivid memories as a child of Genma literally holding her down underfoot while he ate her rice balls, bread rolls, or whatever else had been on the menu. It would only be that much easier for Genma to steal her food when she was entirely absent.

It wasn't the first time Ranma had fought with an empty stomach, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.

Their sparring brought them through the streets, lit by the various lights splashed here and there. As they progressed through the city, she tried to dodge away into a convenience store a couple of times to grab something to eat, but Genma was having none of it. He intercept her each time. While she could have fought her way past him, it would definitely have prevented the quiet low-attention entrance needed for a successful theft.

The practice fight continued for several hours before they eventually returned to camp and the tent within. Once there, Ranma quickly flopped down onto her bedroll, exhaustion overcoming her pangs of hunger.

* * *

Last Updated: October 22, 2020


	6. New Technique

Chapter 6: New Technique

The morning battle for calories was especially hard fought. Ranma's having missed dinner the night before made her extra energetic in her efforts. The attacks and counterattacks she traded with Genma were even more frenetic than was typical. While she failed to acquire anything extra to eat, she did manage to hold off Genma's attempts at stealing her portion.

After the battle had concluded, Ranma departed for Lillian. It was a bit later in the morning than she had recently been leaving, but that didn't really signify anything. She was under no illusions that she would have any time to do any studying before classes started; Minako, Mami, or one of the other newspaper girls was certain to ruin that.

She had a new plan to try out instead. Once lunch began, it would necessarily take some time for the newspaper girls to travel from their room to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom; if Ranma hurried, she should be able to leave and hide in the Rose Mansion before they arrived. Based on the day before, it seemed like that could be a safe sanctuary from Minako and the others.

The trip to school was very similar to the day before. There was the scattering of girls walking through the nearby streets, the greetings of "Gokigenyou" in the air, the passing under the tall gateway at the entrance of Lillian's campus, the small crowd standing in front of the statue of the hooded woman, the purchases at the vending machines, and Minako keeping watch in hallway. Ranma took a moment to prepare herself and then went for the direct confrontation needed to get to class.

That was when things took a shift.

Instead of confronting Ranma with a question, Minako instead confronted Ranma by handing over what appeared to be a newspaper. Ranma gave it a closer look, confirming that her first impression was correct. On the top of it was the name, "Lillian Kawaraban." That barely registered to her, though. Just below that was the huge headline, "Ranko Sugita: The New Rose Princess."

Ranma snatched the newspaper out of Minako's hands and quickly skimmed through it. In the center was a prominent picture of her sitting at her desk. It was the same photograph that Tsutako had taken of her earlier in the week.

"What do you think?" Minako asked.

The article was somewhat sparse on facts, and it tried to mask that by using bombastic language and creative imagination. It began by explaining how Ranma had transfered in to Lillian earlier in the week. It went on to say how one day later, Ranma was made Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur by Sachiko in a touching ceremony which was as romantic as it was fictitious. It continued by describing how, appropriately considering her own recent fortunes, Ranma was now going to play the role of Cinderella in the upcoming play the Yamayurikai was putting on for the festival. It concluded by recounting the more prominent things she had done in the past few days.

There was also a sidebar purportedly describing some of her personal details as well. Supposedly, her favorite food was instant noodles; her hobbies were cooking, cleaning, and climbing; and her life motto was "I'll leave that up to your imagination."

"We still need to have that interview. There are so many questions that need answering. Even better, we'll do a dual interview with you and Sachiko-san. It'd be a great follow-up article for next week's paper."

Ranma just shook her head and shoved the newspaper into Minako's stomach. She used that contact to push Minako aside and walk into the classroom, letting go of the paper as she passed.

The other students in the room turned at Ranma's entrance. Several of the girls were reading copies of the newspaper, but they put them aside in favor of crowding around her. It was similar to what had happened two days earlier.

"You're going to be the lead of the play?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Have you done any acting before?"

"How will you play Cinderella?"

"Yes. I didn't think it was that important. A bit. You'll have to watch to find out." Ranma answered the flurry as best she could.

Her classmates continued to pepper her with questions while Ami tried to calm everybody enough to return a semblance of order to the room. She managed to succeed just in time for Ranma to reach her desk as Tanezaki arrived.

Morning classes proceeded as they typically did. Ranma tried to bend her head around the functions of the endocrine system and the strange word patterns poetry relied upon; both were a far cry from the punches, kicks, throws, jumps, falls, and other physical activities which composed her life on the road. On the other hand, sewing a shirt from a pattern was relatively easy; it was obviously related to the Martial Arts Tailoring she constantly used to fix the numerous rips that would appear in her and Genma's clothing throughout their perpetual training trip.

When lunch came around, Ranma immediately put her new plan into motion. There was not a moment to lose. She quickly stood, grabbed her bag, and hurried out of the room.

The upstairs hallway was blissfully bereft of Minako, and indeed only had the first few students leaving their respective classrooms. The stairway was likewise empty of Minako, as was the downstairs hallway. Ranma emerged into the fresh outdoor air with a distinct lack of followers. From there, she turned to the Rose Mansion and started jogging. She reached the door of the building, opened it, entered, closed it, and breathed a sigh of relief. She had made it.

Ranma continued up the stairs to the conference room on the second floor and took a seat at the table. Lunch was short, but she should be able to get some good work done.

The front door opened. Ranma didn't pay it much mind, though. She had learned her lesson the night before. It was unreasonable paranoia to be seeing and hearing Minako everywhere, and she did have limited time. She went ahead and opened her first packet of instant noodles and pulled out her script.

Footsteps creaked on the wooden stairs, as they always did when somebody was climbing them. Seconds later, a voice came from the doorway. "What a coincidence to meet you here."

Minako was at the entrance of the room and was stalking forward towards Ranma. Her appearance dealt a crushing blow to Ranma's mood.

"Coincidence nothing. You followed me!"

"It's true that I may have seen you running around outside, but no matter. Is this a good time to talk?" Minako said more than asked. She pulled out a chair next to Ranma and sat down in it.

"No, it's not, not that you're going to listen to me."

"Exactly. People have been writing to the newspaper with their questions for the newest member of the Yamayurikai." Minako took out a pencil and a sheet of paper with several items listed on it. "First, how long have you known Sachiko-san? Did you know her before you came to Lillian?"

The front door opened again.

"I'm not doing this," Ranma said, rubbing her hair in frustration. She considered her options and could only think of one she hadn't yet tried. Past experience had shown that a good fight usually solved whatever problem she was having.

The stairs creaked.

"It's just a few questions. We can be done in a couple of minutes, if you cooperate with me."

Ranma had had enough. She would issue a challenge. The terms would be that if she lost, then she would give that interview; and when she won, the newspaper club would leave her alone. If there was any fallout from the fight, she would just need to deal with it.

"What exactly is going on in here?" Sachiko's voice cut through the room, drawing the attention of both Ranma and Minako to the doorway.

"What does it look like? I'm conducting an interview," Minako said.

Sachiko walked over to the still sitting Minako and loomed over her. She said, "You presume too much. Stop bothering Ranko and leave." She decisively pointed at the door.

Ranma watched the exchange, suddenly much more excited. She had hoped to see another example of Sachiko verbal techniques. Ranma's own previous attempts at using them had been unsuccessful, and she was eager for another chance to see them in action.

Minako stood up to face Sachiko eye to eye. She said, "I represent the Lillian Kawaraban. The people..."

"And this is the Rose Mansion," Sachiko said sharply, cutting Minako off. "This is the office of the Yamayurikai. This place is reserved for Yamayurikai business only."

"This is Yamayurikai business. I am conducting an interview with a member of the Yamayurikai."

"You have the audacity to make such a claim? That is not Yamayurikai business. Yamayurikai business would be something like reviewing the status of the newspaper club. Would you like me to provide you a demonstration of the difference?"

"You would dare threaten the Lillian Kawaraban? The students would be outraged. The headmistress would be outraged."

"Just like they would be outraged at what you and your fellow club members have been doing to Ranko. She has been here for five days. Five days. How many times have you cornered her? Four times? Five times? Six times? Do you even know? I would have thought that her jumping out of a window would have been enough to tell you that you had gone too far. What would Maria-sama say about your behavior?"

The two girls faced off. Sachiko glared at Minako, who glared back just as fiercely. The were silent as they stared each other down. The silence extended.

Minako blinked.

"Very well," Minako said. She reached down, picked up her pencil and sheet of paper off of the table, and walked to the door.

Sachiko conspicuously cleared her throat.

Minako stopped where she was, half-way to the door. She turned back to face Ranma and said in a stiff voice, "My apologies. We were out of line. It shall not happen again." She gave a moderate bow and held it for two seconds. She then stood up straight again, turned around, and finished walking out of the room without a look back. Her footsteps creaked on the stairs, and the front door opened a few seconds later.

Ranma had been through enough fights, both as the victor and as the defeated, to recognize that a trouncing had just occurred. Even without a single punch being thrown, Sachiko had defeated Minako and forced her to leave the field. It seemed like there actually might be something to Ranma's inexplicable attendance of Lillian and Genma's other bizarre requests; even if Sachiko's techniques did turn out to be completely unrelated to the Umisenken training, they still seemed useful to learn anyway.

She wasn't sure how she should be reacting to Sachiko's intervention, though. She had been thinking that a fight would be the solution to the problem of the newspaper girls, but she had expected that she would need to fight it for herself. This had never happened before.

"Thanks," Ranma said, trying to feel her way through the situation. "But what brought you here?"

"I saw you running and Minako-san chasing after you earlier. Your neckerchief's been tossed into disarray," Sachiko said with a small smile. She reached down and straightened it.

This really was uncharted territory. In the past, Ranma had always needed to resolve whatever situation she faced on her own. Typically Genma would just use some mocking derision to motivate her to try harder, usually with some insults thrown in for good measure. At best, he might give her some training such that she would have a new technique which she could use to attack the problem. It had never occurred to her that somebody might care enough to help in a more directly way. She wasn't sure how she should be acting.

"Thanks," Ranma repeated.

Sachiko looked Ranma in the eye and said, "No. You wouldn't even be in this predicament if it weren't for me. Really, I should be the one thanking you." She took a step back. "Thank you. Gokigenyou." She then turned and left, leaving Ranma alone in the conference room in a small swirl of confusion.

Ranma turned back to the table and allowed herself to focus on the more concrete and immediate concern that was her lunch. She made use of the pause eating provided to compose herself such that the recent fight and its outcome wouldn't distract her. There would be more time to think about it later, when she didn't have such a short deadline.

She then opened her script and started carefully reading the encounter between Cinderella and the prince at the ball. It was about as successful an effort as could be hoped for. She was able to get through the entire scene before it was time to return to class.

On the way back to the main school building, Ranma kept looking left and right. Despite Minako's words earlier, she still expected that some member of the newspaper club was going to confront her along her trip. Her worries proved to be unfounded, though, and for the first time since becoming Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur, she had a quiet entrance to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom.

The afternoon proceeded similar to the morning, albeit with different class subjects. PE class saw them splitting up into teams to start playing some games of volleyball, and Ranma had to keep purposely serving the ball into the net to match her classmates. History class started talking about the Genpei War, and Ranma found the conflicts and battles between the Taira and Minamoto clans of that era interesting. She saw Yoshino sit up straighter during that lesson as well. Eventually there was the after-class cleaning, and the school day was over once again.

"It's been a busy day, hasn't it?" Yoshino asked as she approached Ranma.

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.

"Here." Yoshino handed over a book. It was a copy of "Human Sword Hanijro." She said, "I've been trying to get this to you all day, but in the morning all of our classmates were surrounding you, and then at lunch you just disappeared."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks," Ranma said. She eagerly took the book and slid it into her book bag. She wasn't sure when she'd find the time to read it, but she was definitely interested in experiencing a new Shoutarou Ikenami adventure.

"You're welcome. Let me know what you think once you finish it," Yoshino said. "Shall we go?"

Ranma had no idea where the secondary gym was, so she once again relied on Yoshino to show the way. As they walked, they talked all about the different samurai novels they had read, exchanging their favorite scenes between them: the pitched duels of honor, the disastrous betrayals of loyalty, and the heroic triumphs of courage and determination. Despite the fact that they had crossed the majority of Lillian's campus on their trip, it still felt short due to their discussion.

At the front entrance of the moderately large building Yoshino had led Ranma to was a long line of shoes and vinyl slippers. There were a couple of girls inside who were taking off the former and donning the latter. Yoshino joined them in picking up a pair of slippers and swapping her shoes for them, and Ranma did likewise.

The secondary gym was much smaller than the primary gym. It was about the size of a basketball court, and it lacked a stage on the side. What it lacked in size, though, it made up for in atmosphere. It somehow exuded an ambiance of welcoming coziness.

Inside the gym were about a dozen girls. Aside from the Yamayurikai, Ranma didn't recognize any of them. About a third of them, including Shimako, were standing around in pairs. The remaining two thirds, including Sachiko, were standing around by themselves. As new girls would trickle in, most of them would join one of the single girls, shrinking that collection and increasing the number of pairs in the room.

Youko caught sight of Ranma and Yoshino as they entered. She said, "Gokigenyou. Yoshino-chan, your partner is going to be Minami-san." She brought Yoshino to a girl with black hair in a pixie cut.

"Ranko-chan, this way please," Youko said. "You'll be center stage and the center of attention for the dance scene, so you'll be learning different steps than everybody else."

Ranma immediately felt at home. Receiving special training was a common occurrence for her. She wasn't sure what it would be, but she was eager to find out. She followed behind Youko across the room to Rei and a tall girl with glasses and a black ponytail. 

Youko said, "I need to work on the choreography of the whole dance scene today, so you'll be working with Shouko-san. Rei has already learned all the steps, and she'll be filling in for the role of the prince during dance practice, too."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Shouko said.

"I'll leave Ranko-chan in your care," Youko said. She then walked back to the main area of the gym.

After Youko had left, Shouko asked, "Have you ever danced before?"

Ranma shook her head. "No."

"Hmm..." Shouko said. "Then, from the beginning. Waltzes are danced with two people: a lead and a follow. The man leads and the woman follows, so for this dance, the prince will be the lead and Cinderella will be the follow. That makes things easier because you won't need to worry as much about the beat and all of your moves will be cued to you.

"Here. Why don't I show you what the whole dance looks like first. I'll be dancing Cinderella's part, so focus on me. Rei-san?"

Shouko stepped right in front of Rei. Rei wrapped her right hand around Shouko's torso slightly under her armpit in something of an open hug. Shouko draped her left arm on top of Rei's arm, lightly gripping her bicep. Rei's left hand was held outward at a raised angle, and Shouko clasped it with her right hand.

The position was vaguely reminiscent of the middle of a grappling engagement.

Shouko said, "The general rule is that whatever the lead does, the follow should mirror so we can stay in this relative position. So when Rei-san steps forward with her left foot, I'll step back with my right foot. When Rei-san turns left, I'll turn left as well."

Ranma made the immediate connection with a martial arts duel. The concept was intuitive. If the opponent advanced, you pulled back in some way. If the opponent retreated, you advanced to maintain the pressure. Watch their every move and react accordingly, ready to strike the moment an opening presented itself.

"Whenever you're ready," Shouko said.

Rei bobbed her head while evenly counting, "One-two-three two-two-three three-two-three four-two-three..."

They moved. It was in a rough circle, formed as if by a pendulum which kept being reoriented to change directions. Rei and Shouko would slightly sink for a couple of steps, and then rise for a couple of steps to end up standing tall. This was frequently punctuated by a flashy flourish here and there, where Shouko would spin outward and return, or jump into the air, or otherwise move in a different position relative to Rei like the Moon circling around the Earth. They eventually came to a stop, Shouko pressed up against Rei.

The two of them stepped apart. Shouko then turned to Ranma and asked, "What did you think?"

It looked interesting, with the complexity of maybe a moderate kata. The various movements were obviously not combat useful, but they did feel combat adjacent due to the adroit footwork and rapid changes of direction. It would be interesting to see how much of her martial arts skills transfered.

Regardless, one thing was very clear; the slippers on Ranma's feet were too loose for this type of activity. She pulled them off, tossed them to the side of the room, and said, "Let's do this."

"That's the spirit," Shouko said.

Some classical music filled the air.

"Okay then. Let's get started. Please stand over here," Shouko said.

Ranma stepped in front of Rei.

Shouko helped maneuver Ranma and Rei into a similar position that she and Rei had taken earlier. Rei took a firm grip of Ranma's torso at approximately the level of her bra strap, and Ranma had to reach up quite a bit such that she could grasp Rei's bicep. The starting stance left Ranma feeling ridiculously exposed, as if she were in the middle of a judo throw; it made her nervous, and she had to fight her impulse to pull away and put some space between her and her opponent.

"Be sure to hold firm with both of your hands. It's the main way for the lead to communicate to the follow." Shouko took a step back. "Hmm... there's a bit more height different than could be ideal. Well, I guess it's good enough. The heels will help too, when we get to the real thing.

"Okay, now remember this position. I want you two to split up and then take it again."

Rei released Ranma, and they both took a step back. They then stepped forward, and Ranma easily adopted the same position again. She had lost count of the number of ready stances she had learned across all of the different disciplines of martial arts she knew; learning one more was trivial.

"That's perfect. Good. Now, remember to hold firm. I'm going to count you up. After I finish the fourth count, I'd like you to begin. Ranko-san, Rei-san will be stepping forward with her left foot. You should step backwards with your right foot."

Ranma wasn't sure why Shouko had said that. The pseudo-kata had literally just been performed, after all. Of course Ranma knew all the steps already. It wasn't half as complicated as Martial Arts Mountain Bicycle Racing or Martial Arts Traffic Directing.

Shouko counted up again, and on cue, Rei stepped forward. Ranma instantly reacted, moving her right foot out of the way. Rei continued forward, as Ranma had known she would from the earlier demonstration, and Ranma easily countered. They proceeded for several seconds.

"Stop, stop, stop," Shouko said. Rei let go of Ranma hands and stepped back. The additional space let Ranma relax a bit.

"What did you think?" Shouko asked.

"Well, I can't exactly say it's wrong," Rei said.

"Me either, especially for a beginner..." Shouko said with a wince, "... but it's not right either. Hmm... How to put it? Take a look over there."

Across the gym, about two dozen girls had paired off and were arranged in a geometric pattern. The pairs of girls were all embracing each other in a position similar to how Ranma and Rei had been embracing before. They smoothly moved back and forth in unison. The exception was Sachiko, who was moving on her own in the center of the spectacle. She was dancing what Ranma recognized to be Cinderella's half of the dance sequence. She gracefully flowed from step to spin to pose, arching her torso and curving her arms such that it was almost impossible to not imagine the invisible parter with which she danced.

"You should be moving more like Sachiko-san. Think elegant. Let's try it again."

Ranma and Rei resumed the starting position for their pseudo-spar, the feelings of vulnerability once again triggering Ranma's danger instincts. She stood tense, ready for action. When Rei stepped forward, Ranma adroitly stepped back, ready to react to her next move. When Rei twisted sideways, Ranma repositioned herself, ready to handle any sneaky attack Rei could send her direction.

"You're still jerking around too much," Shouko said. "You should be matching Rei-san's steps."

"You really don't need to keep flinching. I promise I won't hurt you. We're partners. Just relax and work with me," Rei said.

Her words sounded familiar for some reason, but it took Ranma a few steps to remember why. The phrasing and tone were different, but the content of Rei's remarks was reminiscent of Nukui's taunts, back when Ranma had been trying to learn Martial Arts Dressage. Ranma had been sitting with her back against a stall wall, fuming at her recalcitrant would-be equine partner. Nukui's words had floated over the air at her, mocking and condescending.

In hindsight, Ranma knew what her problem had been. The experience of relying on a horse had been so unfamiliar that she had kept herself tense and had overreacted to every move it had made. That very nervousness had caused the horse to be nervous, and the two of them had fed off each other in a cycle of anxiety and paranoia. Nukui's jeers had ironically triggered the breakthrough in understanding that Ranma had needed. That had been the turning point of her special training, and thereafter she had relaxed enough to actually work together with her horse and began her rapid ascent up the ranks. It had been particularly satisfying to crush Nukui in her challenge two weeks later.

If they used similar words, then maybe a similar approach was appropriate. It was worth a try at least. Ranma made the mental shift away from judo, subverting and countering Rei's actions, and into a mindset of Martial Arts Dressage, taking what was offered and giving what was needed in the partnership of two against all.

Rei stepped forward. Ranma received that idea, channeled it around her body, and sent it back via her hands. Rei pulled it around and shunted it through her legs over to Ranma's outstretched foot. Ranma took it and used her hips to return it to Rei. It moved back and forth between the two of them, weaving around like a butterfly in a flower garden.

"There! Like that! Just like that! Keep going!" Shouko exclaimed.

As they continued onward, Rei stepped on Ranma's feet a few times, but compared to the kicks she traded with Genma daily, Ranma barely even felt the impact of the soft slippers Rei wore. She disregarded the minor distraction and did her best to reproduce the steps that Shouko had shown earlier. She was sure she was slightly off on the minor details, such as the angle of her neck and the height of her jumps, but she thought she did a passably good job for having seen the full sequence only once.

They eventually drew to an end, Ranma clutched close to Rei much like Shouko had been earlier.

"That was incredible! I can't believe you've already learned the whole thing!" Shouko exclaimed.

Ranma stepped back and looked over. To her surprise, she saw everybody in the whole gym was staring at her. Several of the girls were obviously whispering to each other, although they were too far away to hear over the music still playing in the background. She self-consciously scratched the back of her head.

Youko approached and said, "That was really impressive. Do you think you're ready to join us in the main group?"

"I think so, if I can keep up with her, that is," Rei said.

"Definitely," Shouko said. "I've never seen anybody pick things up so quickly before."

"Okay. We're taking a short break right now. Why don't you take 10 minutes, too, and then come join us. I wasn't expecting to be able to get to it, but I think we'll be able to finalize the choreography today," Youko said.

Ranma walked over to pick up her discarded slippers. As she did so, Shouko followed her.

"I was wondering why Rosa Chinensis changed the roles so late. To tell you the truth, I was rather worried about it," Shouko said. "I guess I should have known better. I can see why she did it now. Sachiko-san's great, but you're amazing."

"Thanks," Ranma said. She rarely actively showed off, but her pride did like it when her abilities were acknowledged. She had done countless katas and spars, and apparently the skills translated fairly well, once she had gotten out of the mentality of fighting against Rei.

"You know, once the festival is over, you should join the dance club. It's a lot of fun, and it's great exercise."

"I don't know," Ranma said. She wasn't even sure she would still even be in Lillian for the festival itself, let alone after it. If all went well, she would be finished with the Umisenken training before that point.

"Well, think about it. Speaking for myself, I'd love to have a chance to dance with you, and I'm sure I'm not the only one." Shouko cast a meaningful glance across the room. Several of the girls there were still looking at Ranma, some overtly and others more subtly.

Ranma gave a noncommittal hum and walked over to the entrance to return her slippers. As she went, a few other girls approached her and asked her where she had learned to dance. She repeated to the first girl the explanation that she didn't actually know how to dance, and she received a skeptical look in return. For the other girls who asked her, Ranma just answered with a shrug instead.

She used the rest of the break to wander around the gym in an attempt to find something to drink. Her explorations revealed a changing room, a bathroom, and a lounge. She found a water fountain as well and used it to quench her thirst. She then returned back to the gym proper.

They resumed their practice. Sachiko paired with Shouko and took a position to the side of the group. This left the center area open for Ranma and Rei. Having the crowd surrounding her made Ranma feel even more on edge, but she still forced herself to stay calm and ignore them, trusting in Rei to not steer her incorrectly. As they danced, Youko occasionally called out instructions for people to move to different places or to change how they were oriented.

Practice came to an end with Youko's semi-shout filling the gym. "Good job, everybody. We'll have our next session here on Tuesday. In the meantime, please try to find some time to practice with your partner. Thank you for your hard work."

"Good job."

"Do you want to meet up tomorrow?"

"Gokigenyou."

Chatter surrounded Ranma as the precise lattice of dance pairs surrounding her melted away into a fluid collection of girls roughly meandering towards the entrance of the gym. Ranma herself was included in that collection for a few seconds until a girl with two long blonde ponytails approached her.

"You're really good."

"Thanks," Ranma said. This was the way it was supposed to be, her excelling at whatever task she had dedicated herself too. After some more special training, she was sure she would get her acting in a similar state.

"Why don't you join the dance club?"

"You really should," another girl stepped forward to say. "Everybody in the club's really nice, and it's really a lot of fun."

"Shouko-san already invited me," Ranma said, inclining her head over to the girl who was packing up the CD player on the side of the room.

"Shouko..san?" the first girl asked, emphasizing the honorific.

"Oh my. Using the 'san' honorific with an older student," the second girl said.

"I had no idea you two were that close. Did you know Shouko-sama before you came to Lillian?" the first girl asked.

"No wonder you dance so well," the second girl said. "Then you're definitely going to join the dance club, aren't you? That's great news."

"No. It's nothing like that. I'm just not used to calling people 'sama,'" Ranma said. Now that she thought about it, she had never heard a first-year student in Lillian refer to an upperclassman using anything other than the "sama" honorific. It still felt a bit weird, but it also felt right, considering the atmosphere of stately decorum prevalent throughout the school.

"Oh," the two girls said, deflating a bit.

"Anyway, Shouko..sama already asked me," Ranma said.

"Then are you going to join?" the first girl asked, perking up a bit.

"I don't know," Ranma said.

"Okay. Well, in any case, we'd love to have you. Gokigenyou." The two girls gave a slight bow and then took their leave.

There was a slight traffic jam at the entrance as most of the girls had to wait patiently for the area to clear enough for them to retrieve their shoes. The procession of footwear exchanging was interrupted when a girl with short blonde hair rushed through the door. She took a look around, caught sight of Youko, and exclaimed, "Rosa Chinensis! Rosa Chinensis! We have a problem!"

Everybody turned to look.

"Yes?" Youko asked. She still spoke in a calm and collected manner, not being caught up in the girl's frantic pace.

"The karate team is saying that they got permission to use the secondary gym for the festival," the girl said, still in a rush.

Youko looked at Eriko and Sei, both of whom shook their heads back. She then said, "I see. In that case, we had best go check what this is all about." She directed her attention to the wider group of students around her. "If you would please excuse us."

The Three Roses stepped forward, and the line of the girls parted in deference to them. They reached down, switched their shoes, and followed behind the girl as she led them away from the gym.

With the interruption out of the way, the semi-organized procession of girls reformed into a line and the switching of slippers for shoes resumed. It took a minute for them to clear enough to allow Ranma and the other members of the Yamayurikai to take their turn. They were the last ones out of the gym, and they emerged into the cooling afternoon air.

Approximately two-thirds of the way back to the main entrance of Lillian, Ranma diverted away from the others.

"Where are you going?" Shimako asked when she noticed.

"To the Rose Mansion," Ranma said. The situation remained fundamentally the same as it had been the day before. She may have finally had a chance to get in some good practice, but there was still a lot more work she needed to do to even be able to confidently speak Cinderella's part, let alone memorize it.

"What's there?" Rei asked.

"I thought I'd do a bit more studying before I headed home today," Ranma said. If she returned to camp, she had no doubt that the rest of the evening would be spent fighting with Genma.

"In the Rose Mansion?" Yoshino asked.

"That's two nights in a row. Your father doesn't worry?" Sachiko asked.

"Why would he? I can take care of myself," Ranma said. Genma might be annoyed due to the delayed dinner, or more likely he might be happy that he got to eat more for himself. No matter what he was, though, the one thing he would not be was worried.

"How long do you think you'll stay here tonight?" Sachiko asked.

"No idea," Ranma said. "Probably a few hours. I got a lot to go through. I mean, you know Cinderella's lines better than me, right? I got to do something to catch up."

"Don't worry about that too much. I've had a lot of practice. You'll get there eventually," Sachiko said.

"I know I will," Ranma said. It was a foregone conclusion. She would master the technique. She always did. What she didn't know was how much training she would need to do to get there, or what esoteric forms that training might take. She idly wondered if reciting her lines while being locked in a freezer would help somehow.

"Well, she's confident at least," Rei said. Yoshino nodded in agreement.

"In that case, I had best go get some snacks. I learned my lesson yesterday. If we're going to have a study session, we should do it properly."

Sachiko's declaration brought a smile to Ranma's face. It was an unexpected but very welcome surprise. It was rare for martial arts training to come with free food; the last time it had was when she had learned Martial Arts Stir Frying years ago.

"Have fun. Don't stay too late. Gokigenyou," Rei said, with Yoshino and Shimako following her lead.

They parted ways, Ranma turning to go to the Rose Mansion and the other four continuing on their original path.

Ranma entered the Rose Mansion and made her way up to the conference room. She turned on the lights, took a seat, and pulled out her copy of the script. She then started reading from the beginning. This time she spoke the lines highlighted in pink out loud, trying to twist her tongue around the flowery speech that Cinderella used.

The front door opened about 20 minutes later. It was followed by the creaking of the stairs. Ranma looked up to see Sachiko entering the room. She bore an armful of cookies, crackers, candies, crisps, and cups of instant noodles. The sight of them brought a smile to Ranma's face which revealed her earlier smile as the mere foreshadowing it had been.

Ranma continued to practice verbally, although she frequently interrupted herself in favor of eating one or another of the foods Sachiko had brought. For her part, Sachiko spent her time filling up some blank pages of papers with writing. There was little direct interaction between the two of them, aside from when they occasionally looked at each other as they both reached for some cookies or crackers at the same time. Regardless, Sachiko's presence was something of a comfort.

Between her munching and her recitations, Ranma barely even noticed the passage of time. The sky was once again dark when Ranma decided that she had done enough for the day.

"Finished," Ranma said loudly, pushing herself back away from the table and stretching her arms up and out. The remnants of empty bags and cups surrounded her.

"Good work. I could hear you getting a lot better," Sachiko said.

Ranma hadn't expected that Sachiko had been paying attention to her. She said a subdued, "Thanks."

She shoved her script into her book bag. Sachiko was much more deliberate with her packing up. Ranma took the chance to clean up the plastic and foil entrails of the eaten food scattered around the table, mostly near her.

"Shall we go?" Sachiko asked, once again leading the pair downstairs and outside.

The empty campus looked identical to the night before. The sparse lights created small pools of illumination along the path and revealed the silhouettes of the buildings in the near distance.

"What's it like, living with only your father?" Sachiko asked as they walked.

The tone of Sachiko's question was a bit odd. It was certainly different than the interrogations of the newspaper girls. It was less directly confrontational. In fact, it barely even felt like a question.

"I never really thought about it before. I mean, I could ask you the same thing. What's it like living with both your parents?" Ranma asked.

The susurrus of the trees and bushes somehow sounded more emphatic in the darkness which surrounded them.

"That's a good question," Sachiko said. "To tell you the truth, I'm actually a bit envious of you. I'm the only child of the one and only Ogasawara family, and a daughter at that. There's an image I'm supposed to maintain. Ballet lessons. Piano lessons. Tea ceremony lessons. Calligraphy lessons. I had so many lessons growing up. I'm expected to be the best at everything."

Ranma could understand. It was not unlike how she had grown up herself: learning all the different forms of martial arts that Genma had exposed her to and fulfilling the expectation of being the best at everything she did. Dance rather than martial arts. Tea ceremony rather than dueling rituals. Sachiko might have been a wealthy heiress, but it sounded like there was more similarity between their lives than surface appearances may have suggested.

Sachiko continued, "Truth be told, it can feel a bit stifling at times. Did you know that Onee-sama was the first person to ever ask me what I wanted to do?"

"Oh?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. It was before she was even my Onee-sama. She approached me and asked me about my extra lessons. She asked me which of them I most enjoyed doing. It was so strange. I didn't even understand the question at first. I had just gotten into the habit of doing them all because I did them all, because I was the daughter of the Ogasawara family. I had never stopped to think about what I wanted to do for myself until she asked me why I was doing all of them.

"That night, I sat down and thought hard about what I really wanted. It was the first time I had ever done so. I ended up quitting all of those extra lessons that very night. I told Onee-sama the next day, in the middle of the new students' welcoming ceremony, right in front of the whole class. I still remember the look of surprise on her face. We made the soeur vow right after the ceremony completed."

"So you were the one to ask her to give you her rosary?" Ranma asked.

"No, not literally, but..." Sachiko said. "The whole sequence was very unusual. I was looking for something that I didn't know, and I think she was looking for something, too. I guess the best way to put it is that we both asked each other at the same time, in a way. It was the best thing that's ever happened to me, too. Onee-sama really is like an older sister to me; maybe even more than that. She's helped me so much, with everything."

"But wasn't she the one who was trying to make you play Cinderella?" Ranma asked.

"Yes."

"That sounds weird, then. Why did she try to do that to you?" The two ideas felt to be in contradiction with each other.

"I don't know," Sachiko said as they emerged into the street outside of Lillian. The same car from the previous day was there, complete with the same uniformed man sitting in the driver's seat. He opened the door and stepped out upon seeing them.

"Are you sure you would not like me to drive you home?" Sachiko asked.

The offer did not bring with it the jolt of panic it had the night before. Ranma knew she could decline without any real danger. She said, "Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks."

"Very well," Sachiko said. "Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Ranma watched once again to ensure that Sachiko drove off. It was unlikely that she would turn around and try to follow, but years of traveling with Genma had drilled into her the need for constant vigilance. It wasn't only from Genma's words, either. Even more, the consequences which occasionally resulted from failure to display appropriate levels of caution had also left their mark. Sometimes one mistake was all it took for some scheme to fall apart, causing varying level of disaster in its wake.

Once she was certain that Sachiko had left, Ranma began her walk back to camp. At least this time she wasn't hungry. She wasn't too hungry, at least.

* * *

Omake:

Ranko had departed for the Rose Mansion, and Sachiko had split away shortly thereafter. The school grounds were only sparsely populated by whichever clubs had happened to have recently adjourned. A quick look around revealed there was a trio of girls further up the path, but nobody was in immediate earshot.

This was about as good a time as Shimako was likely to get. She had something she wanted to talk to Yoshino about. Rather, she had something she absolutely did not want to talk to Yoshino about, but she did need to talk to her about.

Shimako hated all forms of personal relationships. The attachments she formed with others felt like anchors, tying her down with promises of future pain and loneliness. If she never had any entanglements, then she could avoid the suffering which always struck her when she inevitably lost them. If she could have had her own way, she would have just walked on by, an ascetic nun disengaged from worldly affairs.

That was precisely the problem, though. It was the exact same situation that was presented in the bible in the parable of the Good Samaritan, among countless others. Check the fallen. Bring the injured to safety. Pay the denarii. Help the neighbor. It was correct and laudable to follow in the example of the Samaritan. Even a priest and a Levite, let alone an aspiring nun, was worthy of scorn should they pass by on the other side.

Thus, despite how antithetical it was to Shimako's personal preference, she had to at least check.

"Would you mind it terribly if I were to borrow Yoshino-san?" Shimako asked.

Rei looked at Shimako with a bit of surprise. She sent a questioning glance at Yoshino, who glanced back, equally surprised. "I guess it's fine, if Yoshino doesn't mind."

"I don't mind," Yoshino said. She was now looking at Shimako with curiosity.

"Will it be long?" Rei asked.

"It shouldn't be too long. I only need a few minutes," Shimako said.

"In that case, I'll be waiting at Maria-sama, okay?" Rei asked.

"Okay," Yoshino said with a nod.

Shimako took one more look around for any eavesdroppers, especially Minako. Rei was walking away, and the three girls from earlier were disappearing into the distance. Nobody else was in sight, and there were no bushes or any other potential hiding places in the immediate vicinity. It was the perfect place and opportunity to talk to Yoshino in private.

Something had nagged at Shimako for the past few days, with Ranko's commentary about going to the Rose Mansion to study being the most recent example. It wasn't wrong as such, but it was notably unusual to avoid going home, especially for multiple nights in a row. Combined with the other things, such as how Ranko was always hungry and how she had jumped out of her classroom window, it just bothered Shimako.

She could have talked to Sei, but they had a much more autonomous relationship than the other rose families; Sei valued her independence just as much as Shimako valued hers. Moreover, approaching Rosa Gigantea somehow felt too official for what was ultimately just some odd feelings Shimako had. It made more sense for her to talk to her fellow first-year student first, especially as Yoshino was in Ranko's class and could have more information on the situation.

Discretion was the order of the day, though. With luck, it would turn out to be nothing; the traveler would have just tripped and fallen. Shimako could continue on her way, and the whole situation could be carefully ignored in the future as a private embarrassment with no loss of face for anybody involved.

Shimako turned to Yoshino and asked her opening question. "Have you noticed anything strange about Ranko-san?"

"You too?"

Yoshino's cross question was already a disappointment. It confirmed that it wasn't just Shimako's imagination. While it wasn't conclusive, it appeared that her journey between Jerusalem and Jericho would not be without incident.

"Yes. She's always eating. Did you see how much of the cake she took yesterday?" Shimako asked. She wouldn't have been surprised if Ranko had eaten a third of the whole thing. There were the cookies the day before, too, and the sandwiches on that first day.

"And she's always eating instant noodles for lunch. Dry at that," Yoshino said.

"Always?"

"As far as I can tell."

That was another oddity. Shimako added it to her collection. She had seen Ranko eating them once, but she had assumed it was a one-time thing. Regardless of anything else, they were unhealthy and monotonous.

"Maybe she never learned how to cook? She doesn't have a mother, after all. If it were up to my father, he'd likely just eat instant noodles all day, too," Shimako said, speculating out loud on a potentially benign explanation for Ranko's choice of lunch.

"That could be it, but when she introduced herself to my class, she said one of her hobbies was cooking."

Shimako tried to think of other possible explanations. She said, "Maybe she just likes them." It was unlikely, but not impossible. People had favorite foods, and maybe instant noodles was Ranko's. After all, for all of its errors, the Lillian Kawaraban's articles had at least some basis in truth more often than not. It made Shimako wonder what kind of person her father was to allow her to eat like that, though.

"Maybe. However, on her first day here, she asked me to show her to the cafeteria. When she got there, she counted out three coins and then asked me where the vending machines were. That's when she bought the noodles," Yoshino said.

That made it sound like Ranko's eating instant noodles throughout the week was an issue of cost. Shimako could remember how Ranko had described them as being cheap, too. That would suggest that she was always hungry because she wasn't getting enough to eat at home because her father couldn't afford to feed her.

"Do you think she might have money problems? That doesn't sound right to me. Lillian is quite an expensive school. Her father has to have a fair bit of money in order to pay for the tuition, if nothing else," Shimako said.

It wasn't standard practice to discuss the occupations of their parents, but the topic did occasionally slip out during conversations. Within Lillian, everybody's parents were doctors, lawyers, university professors, presidents of smaller companies, department heads of larger companies, and even more exalted positions. Not a single family could be considered anything less than prosperous.

"I agree, but I keep thinking of the three coins and the look on her face in the cafeteria," Yoshino said. "That's not all, either. In PE class, when she took off her sailor uniform..." Yoshino glanced around, and then leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "She had bruises all over her body. They were mostly on her arms and torso, but there were also a few of them on her legs. Many of them looked new, too."

That definitely worried Shimako. She had wanted to proverbially search for injuries on the traveler between Jerusalem and Jericho; she had never thought that those injuries would be literal.

A chilling thought occurred to her. The implication of all of the details, and especially the bruises, was obvious, although she hoped there was another more innocent explanation. She took another look around the area to ensure nobody had approached while they had been talking. Then, in a low voice matching Yoshino's, she asked, "Have you asked her about them?"

Yoshino shook her head. She said, "I haven't. It's not exactly an easy thing to ask about, is it?"

"No. I suppose it isn't," Shimako said. As much as she hated to even consider it, there was no way to avoid it. She edged even closer to Yoshino and asked even more quietly, practically in a whisper, "Do... do you think her father is... mistreating her?"

"I'm sure he is. He's been throwing her out of windows, if nothing else."

"Yes," Shimako said with solemn nod. "That would explain why she's so reluctant to go home, too."

"Would it? She didn't seem to think it was such a big deal," Yoshino said.

"If she were being abused, do you think she would be open about it?" Shimako asked. Pride, honor, and face were all components of society, for better and for worse.

"I guess that's true, but still, it doesn't really make sense, does it? What kind of abusive father would turn around and send his daughter to Lillian?" Yoshino asked.

"I don't know."

"How about this as a possibility? Maybe her father just doesn't know how to handle having a daughter. That would match what the headmistress told us about them. You should have seen her struggle with her uniform in her first PE class, and she's gotten a lot better with it, even after just a few days. I wouldn't be surprised if the Lillian sailor uniform was the first dress she's ever worn in her life."

"So it'd be okay to throw a son out of a window?"

"Of course not," Yoshino said, barely missing a beat. "Then let's just say he's all around incompetent. The idea still stands."

"I'm not sure how much better that is," Shimako said. Neglect was certainly less reprehensible than malice, but the end result was still bad. "That could explain her bruises and the jumping, and maybe even the instant noodles, but how does that explain her always being hungry and her not wanting to go home?"

"It doesn't," Yoshino said with a shake of her head. "I don't know. The only thing I do know is that something strange is going on."

Shimako nodded. She was disappointed, but it wasn't like she had had any better ideas herself. All that she had was the instinct that something was very wrong. She was worried.

"Do you think we should tell Sachiko-sama?" Shimako asked, still in a whisper.

Yoshino hummed in thought. She asked, "If you were having a problem at home, would you want somebody to tell Rosa Gigantea?"

Shimako's breath caught. Yoshino's question had been a hypothetical one. It had to be. There was no way that she could have known that Shimako was in fact having a problem at home, and that she had already told Sei about it. She took a moment to try to put some distance from her own situation and think more objectively about the question.

On the surface, the answer was so obvious that she didn't even understand why it was a question at all. Sei was her grande soeur; of course Shimako would want her to know. That's why she had told her.

Thinking further, though, there was more to it than that. If somebody else told Sei, that would mean that that somebody else would know her problem, too, and the thought of somebody else finding out about her home situation was absolutely mortifying.

"I don't know," Shimako admitted.

"Me either. I mean, I'd want Onee-sama and Rosa Foetida to help, but I don't know I could bear it if they knew," Yoshino said.

"Regardless, I want to help Ranko-san somehow," Shimako said. The bible was full of instructions to help the needy and to not disregard those in trouble. It was one of the numerous things which had attracted her to Catholicism.

That was in the abstract, though, and she wasn't sure how she could apply the religious principles and parables to the enigmatic flesh and blood situation she was facing. What wounds needed to be bound? What was the oil and wine she should pour? She just didn't know.

Shimako leaned back, and said in a more natural voice, "I think I'll need to ask Onee-sama to see what she thinks."

As much as she and Sei both valued their autonomy, some things were just more important than that. One of the key pillars of the soeur system was for the grande soeur to provide guidance and assistance to her petite soeur. While this was most prominently exemplified in Rosa Chinensis and the Red Rose Family, it applied to Rosa Gigantea and the White Rose Family just as much. Hopefully Sei would know to whom the denarii should be paid. 

Yoshino nodded. She also returned to a regular speech volume. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll discuss this with Onee-sama as well to see what she thinks about it and if we should bring this up with Rosa Foetida."

They resumed walking towards the entrance of Lillian. A heavy silence fell between them, the weight of the previous conversation pressing down on them both.

Rei was waiting at the statue of Mary, as she had said she would be. Apparently the depression of their conversation subject was obvious on their bearing because she immediately asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure. I'm sure Yoshino-san will explain. Gokigenyou," Shimako said. She then took her leave. She wouldn't have wanted Yoshino getting involved in her initial discussions with Sei, and she expected Yoshino wouldn't want Shimako's presence in talking to Rei, either. For now, for such a sensitive subject, it was better for each rose family to come to their own conclusions about how best to proceed. If appropriate, there would be a time for a group discussion later.

"Gokigenyou," Rei said hesitantly.

"Gokigenyou," Yoshino said as well, subdued.

Shimako moved ahead, leaving Yoshino behind with Rei. Along the way, she tried to think ahead to her upcoming phone call with Sei and how to best broach the subject.

* * *

Last Updated: October 22, 2020


	7. New Understanding

Chapter 7: New Understanding

The morning began easily enough. Throwing on a keikogi would have been faster and easier, but Ranma was becoming proficient in donning her Lillian sailor uniform and could now dress with only a minimum of fuss in the bright sunlight. Once she was suitably attired, she left camp and began the walk to school.

Almost as soon as she began her trip, Ranma became aware that something was a bit off. It was as if the world was braced for a fight, with all innocent bystanders taking shelter behind closed doors. The roads were nearly empty of cars, and she encountered very few girls on her way to Lillian. Of those girls, a disproportionately large number were carrying weapons like bows and staves. Most of the ones who weren't so equipped were instead carrying large bundles of some kind or another, such as spools of wire, bolts of fabric, and bags of unidentified things.

Ranma kept a sharp lookout all around her as she walked. The strange ambiance, and especially the armed girls, set her on edge. Despite her best efforts, though, she failed to spot any upcoming attacks or ambushes on her whole trip through the campus grounds. In fact, she saw almost nobody at all. Even the statue of the hooded woman in the corpse of trees only had a single girl standing in front of it as Ranma passed by.

The interior of the school building was even more desolate than the exterior had been. Normally several girls could be found changing their shoes and exchanging greetings in front of the locker near the entrance, but this time it was completely devoid of people. The hallways were likewise empty as Ranma made her way through them to the vending machines and subsequently to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom. Ironically, she was half-hoping that Minako would be there waiting to pounce on her; it would have provided a semblance of normalcy. However, the newspaper girl was not present. The school felt completely abandoned.

Ranma walked into the room and saw what she had both expected and feared to see: nobody was there.

This was a first for her. There had always been several girls socializing or doing some last minute studying whenever she had walked in in the past.

Without anything else to do, Ranma pulled her script out of her book bag and took her seat. Pre-class training had been her plan several days ago, before Minako had ruined it with her morning interrogations. Ironically, now that Ranma had given up on it, she seemed to be able to actually do it. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she was willing to take advantage of the opportunity.

Incredibly, she completed an entire read through of the whole play without being interrupted. Not only that, nobody else had arrived throughout the whole exercise. A check of the clock showed that an hour had passed and that classes should have started, yet the room remained empty. There was no doubt about it; something was definitely wrong.

Ranma left her things where they were and stood up and left the room. There were answers to be had, and they weren't to be found sitting around reading.

The classroom next door was empty, as was the one past it, and the following one as well. It felt more than a bit eerie. She had only ever seen the school building teeming with activity in the past, and its absence was surreal and unnatural. It felt as if all of Lillian had been abandoned in the wake of an apocalyptic disaster, or that she had been spirited away into some parallel world completely bereft of humans.

Her pace increased as she continued to walk forward in her search. She kept checking rooms as she went: music room, restroom, supply room, classroom. All of them were empty.

That was until Ranma slid open a door and found one which was populated. It was a mixture of surprise and relief to finally find some other people. There were only seven girls there, but compared to the desolation of the rest of the building, it felt like a crowd. They were all surrounding a dress form which had some kind of metal device encircling it. One of the girls, who had medium length brown hair held back with a headband, was fiddling with the contraption. The other six girls were watching her with eager anticipation.

They all turned to the door at Ranma's entrance. The excitement on their faces melted fractionally as they exchanged glances with each other.

One of the girls, the one who was standing next to the one fiddling with the metal device, asked, "Ranko-san? Gokigenyou. Is there something we can help you with?" She had blonde hair which she also held back with a headband.

"What's going on here?" Ranma asked.

"We're trying to figure out a trick for Cinderella's transformation," the blonde girl said.

Another girl, one who had short black hair and glasses, spoke up. She said, "Actually, it's good that you're here. Come in." The girl waved her arm in an overt beckoning gesture of invitation.

Ranma hesitantly walked forward. The eyes of the other girls were upon her.

"Go get a tape measure," the girl with black hair said. She then turned back to Ranma, "Here, stand here."

"Huh?" Ranma was confused, but she moved forward to stand on the indicated spot.

One of the other girls picked up a metal tape measure from a side table and handed it over. The girl with black hair and glasses took it, extended it, and wrapped it around Ranma.

"What're you doing?" Ranma asked as the girl circled around her.

"Just trying to get your measurements. We were going to get them from the handicrafts club on Thursday, but since you're here anyway, it'll save us a lot of time if we make this the right size to begin with. Arms up, please." She drew the tape measure around Ranma's bust, waist, and hips, and called out the numbers.

A girl with long black hair sighed and quietly asked, "The Yamayurikai really are on a different level, aren't they?"

Her neighbor also sighed and said, "Yeah."

"Hmm?" Ranma asked, turning to look at the two girls.

"Nothing, nothing," the first girl said. Both of the girls slightly blushed.

"Thanks," the girl with the tape measure said once she had finished measuring Ranma's height.

Ranma still wasn't exactly sure what was going on. However, one thing she did know was that the school was almost entirely abandoned. She asked, "Where is everybody?"

The girls in the club looked back and forth at each other. The blonde girl asked, "What do you mean?"

"Were you looking for somebody in particular?" the girl with black hair and glasses asked.

"No. I meant the school's all empty," Ranma said.

The girls exchanged another set of glances, incredulous confusion more prominent on their faces this time. The girl with glasses hesitantly said, "It's Sunday."

"We're only here because we need to get ready for the festival next week," the girl with brown hair said.

"Oh, is that it?" Ranma asked.

With that revelation, suddenly everything made sense. It was Sunday, which of course meant that there were no classes, which of course meant that nobody had come to school. She felt silly. She had had no idea what day of the week it was. Traveling on the road was not conducive to keeping track of a calendar. It just hadn't mattered when hiking through the mountains of China and the forests of Japan if it was a Tuesday or a Friday. The rain either fell or it didn't, they either found food or they didn't, and a punch to the chest was just as painful no matter what day of the week on which it was delivered.

"Did your old school not get the day off?" the blonde girl asked.

"Something like that," Ranma said. The Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts had no weekends, sick days, or holidays.

"Wow."

"Incredible."

"That sounds hard."

"Ehh..." Ranma shrugged. "Gokigenyou."

She quickly walked out the room, eager to escape her feelings of chagrin as well as any awkward questions from the girls. She made her way back to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom.

If it was Sunday, it meant that effectively she had the entire day free. It provided a good opportunity for more training. The rehearsal on Friday had shown how far behind she was compared to the others, and she hated being behind anybody, let alone everybody.

Now that she knew there were no classes in session, Ranma migrated to the Rose Mansion. Somehow she felt more comfortable there. She paced back and forth in the conference room, reciting the script out loud with a projecting voice as if delivering the lines to a distant audience. She could still feel the afterthought nature of Cinderella's feminine speech pattern, but her tongue was becoming progressively less tied up with the language.

The completion of this read through provided as good an opportunity as any to eat lunch. She took a seat and devoured her packages of instant noodles.

Once the sharper edge of her hunger had been addressed, she pulled the copy of "Human Sword Hanjiro" out from her book bag. She had done a lot of good practice over the past two days, and she told herself that the short break would help her better concentrate on her afternoon training.

She eagerly opened the book to the first page and then lost herself in the story of the lowly man who, through his impeccable swordsmanship and indefatigable focus, rose through the ranks to become a high ranking military officer. It was every bit as gripping, dramatic, and exciting as Ranma had come to expect from Shoutarou Ikenami.

The reading left her feeling refreshed and energized, if possibly a bit distracted with visions of bandit raids and samurai duels. The afternoon was progressing, though, and she had more work to do. If the next rehearsal with the Yamayurikai was not successful, it would not be her fault.

Ranma returned to the Cinderella script and resumed her training; images of demanding step-sisters and opulent dancing replaced the dusty streets of ancient Kyoto in her imagination.

A couple of hours later, she decided she had done enough for the day. She was not going to miss dinner this time. She felt much more confident in her ability to deliver her lines, even if she had had no luck with memorizing them. The sun was descending down the sky, but it was still bright as she cleaned up her trash and began her return trip to camp.

When she arrived back at the temple, Ranma took the time to do a more careful search around the area for spectators. It was easier to do as well as more important to do in the afternoon sunlight. Once she confirmed she was alone, she hopped over some foliage and landed in the camp.

She quickly changed her clothes, and Genma tossed her a bottle of hot water after she had finished changing. They then slipped back out of the camp and proceeded with their standard practice of trying to beat each other black and blue.

Their fight brought them through the streets and along the river bank. It continued until they came to a tentative armistice in the early evening. There was no way that the cessation of hostilities could possibly last through the whole night, but they both had a vested interest in a temporary truce while they got some dinner.

It was easy to forage for food in a nearby convenience store. Genma walked out with some curry and bread, and Ranma helped himself to some rice balls and sushi. They then found a random bench in a park and took a seat there to eat.

"How are things going with you and Ogasawara?" Genma asked between hastily chewed bites.

"Pretty good," Ranma said.

"It's been a few days. Are you all close to her now?"

"Yeah, of course," Ranma said. She had stayed behind with him after school for the past few days, dealt with the newspaper club for him, thanked him for his help with the play, and even brought him stuff to eat. If those weren't signs that things were going well, he didn't know what would be.

"Good. Then I guess you may be ready for the next step of your training," Genma said. Ranma tensed, eager to hear what it was, and he was rewarded by Genma snatching away one of his rice balls. "For the next step, you gotta get invited to her home."

Ranma was left tense in confusion. He didn't let that stop him from capturing one of Genma's rolls of yakisoba bread, avenging the loss of his rice.

"Her home?" Ranma asked. "What's that gotta do with anything? What is this technique, anyway?"

"Foolish boy. Oh, to be cursed with such a stupid son," Genma said melodramatically. "Don't you see? This is what everything's been leading up to. You need to get into her mansion and learn everything about it: see where they keep their stuff, find out who is around and where they stay, learn the pattern of their daily activities. Report back to me once you have completed this. Only then will you be ready for me to show you the true power of the Umisenken."

Ranma growled and shook his head. He said, "This had better be worth it." It was only a half-hearted complaint. Even if the Umisenken turned out to be a mirage, which was doubtful, after seeing how Sachiko had handled both Mami and Minako, Ranma was already convinced that there was something of value to learn in Lillian, if only he could learn it.

"Have some faith in me, boy. It's worth it. Just don't mess it up. You got to keep nice with Ogasawara until this is over," Genma said. "And hurry up. You only got one week left before things start getting dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma said, still trying to think over Genma's instructions and glean whatever insight he could from this training regiment. Based on what Genma had said, there was apparently something he was missing.

Upon reflection, Genma's request did seem to have some sense behind it. Trying to learn another person's way of life wasn't without precedent. Back when he had been training to learn the naginata with Shiori Fukuyama, Ranma had been forced learn all aspects of the onna-bugeisha's lifestyle, including seemingly unrelated skills such as tea ceremony and poetry. It had felt insane at the time, but the final results of that training spoke for themselves.

Fukuyama hadn't been an isolated case, either. It had happened a couple more times during his training trip, such as with Wataru Inoue and Rikiya Horiuchi. Being asked to embodying an entire lifestyle was a rare, but not an unheard of, path to attaining mastery of a form of martial arts. Presumably Genma was looking for Ranma to do the same thing with Sachiko.

Putting the pieces together, the most natural conclusion was that these Umisenken techniques Genma was teaching him were in fact related to the verbal mastery Sachiko, and to a lesser extent Yoshino, had demonstrated. His objective had to be for Ranma to understand Sachiko's entire lifestyle in order to lay the proverbial groundwork in preparation for learning the techniques. In that light, visiting her home made perfect sense; there were countless little details of Sachiko's life which wouldn't be apparent from merely observing her in Lillian.

Ranma's theory neatly explained most of Genma's demands thus far. Genma's insistence that Ranma wear the Lillian sailor dress was just like when Fukuyama had insisted that Ranma wear a female kimono throughout his training. The request to blend in was a ruse to get him to act like Sachiko and the others. His suggestion to befriend Sachiko or Eriko was because they were both in the Yamayurikai, the champions of the school-wide competition. Genma's refusal to explain the whole training process in advance was a precautionary measure to prevent Ranma from trying to skip some steps and forming bad habits before he was ready.

The theory didn't quite fit all the facts, though. Genma's list of recommended girls to befriend was a bit odd. Ranma could justify Genma's suggestion of Kanina as a backup plan if the Yamayurikai had proven to be impenetrable. What he couldn't explain was why Sachiko had been targeted, or indeed any "rich girl." It would have made more sense to select Youko and Sei in addition to Eriko, especially as Youko was clearly the one in charge of the Yamayurikai and thus the strongest. However, as far as a working theory went, it seemed pretty good.

While Ranma had been speculating, Genma had managed to snatch two pieces of sushi out from under him. He noticed the losses his inattention was causing just barely in time to save a rice ball from Genma's brazen raid. Intercepting that last attack was enough to clarify Ranma's priorities for the immediate moment. All of his conjectures about this new technique Genma was teaching him were pushed aside as he instead focused on finishing his meal. The sooner it was in his stomach, the less of it would disappear into Genma's own. It was likely that Genma would resume the general assault the moment he had finished his own dinner, too, so Ranma needed to be sure to finish first.

As predicted, the battle restarted right as Ranma and Genma concurrently finished swallowing their last bites. It raged throughout the evening, and it was late at night before they made their way back to camp. Thereafter, Ranma fell onto his cold bedroll once again, another day done.

* * *

Last Updated: September 1, 2020


	8. New Expectation

Chapter 8: New Expectation

The previous day had been decidedly abnormal. This day was looking to be equally abnormal, albeit in the exact opposite direction.

"Gokigenyou, Ranko-san."

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

While Sunday had been a quiet day spent in near-solitude, Monday was downright boisterous. The number of Lillian students Ranma encountered on her way to class was approximately the same as it had been throughout the previous week; the difference was that every single one of them who saw her reacted to her in some fashion.

"Ranko-san, gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou, Ranko-san."

The girls near her all politely greeted her. Some nodded their heads as they spoke. Others were more emphatic in their bowing. While each one individually was quintessentially demure, the sheer quantity was almost overwhelming.

"I heard that she used to take ballet classes with Sachiko-san."

"Isn't she adorable? She's so tiny."

"You can tell why Sachiko-sama picked her. She fits right in."

The girls who were further away were less restrained in their reactions. While they didn't address her directly, she could see their inquisitive looks and hear their excited chatter in the distance. It was a dramatic change from the week before.

Shimako had told Ranma that the members of Yamayurikai were placed on a proverbial pedestal, but that was like hearing that it was a long swim to cross the Sea of Japan: it was literally true, but the mere words had utterly failed to convey to her the true magnitude of the situation. It seemed like Minako had not been exaggerating the amount of interest the student body had in the transfer student who had just become the newest member of the Yamayurikai. If anything, she might have been understating it.

Ranma wasn't exactly sure how to handle all the attention. She ended up ignoring the distant chatter, and she returned the verbal greetings with some tentative waves back. These were met with everything from polite smiles to flushed faces.

Like the students surrounding Ranma, Lillian itself had also undergone a transformation in character, albeit one more gradual in nature. Somebody had hung a large sign near the entrance of the main building. It was embellished with a broad ribbon along the edge and a large paper flower in a corner. The top half of the sign read, "Days Remaining Until The Festival." Beneath that was a flip sign which displayed, "06."

Ranma walked past it and made her way to the vending machines once again. For the first time, she saw somebody else there. The girl had brown hair in a pageboy haircut, and Ranma recognized her as being Rina from her class.

Rina pushed a button, and a package of instant noodles fell to the bottom of the machine. She retrieved it, turned, and caught sight of Ranma.

"Ah. Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Rina gave a slight bow, and then walked away.

Ranma approached the machine and bought her own noodles. She then climbed the stairs on the way to her classroom, pausing at the top of them to cautiously look around the hallway. She was wary if Minako had regained her nerve and was waiting to ambush her again. The corridor appeared free of newspaper girls, though. It seemed like Sachiko's confrontation on Saturday had in fact been a decisive victory and that that particular trial was finally over.

Her entrance into the classroom was much more muted than Saturday's had been, which was to say that she wasn't immediately mobbed upon entering. The swarm of questions had been reduced to a more reasonable, if large, number of generic inquiries asking her how her Sunday had gone and if she was excited for the upcoming festival.

The relatively plain entrance gave Ranma an opening to approach Yoshino before classes began. She just had to talk to somebody about the screenplay she had read the day before. She said, "Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Ranma pulled out Yoshino's copy of "Human Sword Hanjiro" and handed it over. She said, "Thanks. That was great."

"Wasn't it? I love the first fight scene. It's one of my favorite ones," Yoshino said as she took the book back.

"Yeah, that was good. Did you notice how it was similar to that fight in 'Bakumatsu Shinsengumi?'"

Yoshino's eyebrows scrunched a bit at the question. She said, "No, I didn't. Which one?"

Two of them engaged in some light discussion of the screenplay, comparing it with Shoutarou Ikenami's other works, until the clock signaled that classes were about to begin.

"Stand. Bow."

Tanezaki entered the room and began the morning lessons. It proceeded as could be expected, with classes such as Biology and English taking their course.

When lunchtime arrived, Ranma remained in the classroom. Without the threat of an unwelcome interrogation, she didn't feel the need to run to the Rose Mansion for some peace and quiet.

It was with some amusement that Ranma noticed Rina pull out her own package of instant noodles and stare at it with a measure of trepidation. She was sitting on the other side of the room with Yuka and Hiyori, and the three girls had entered into some animation discussion. It was clearly in regard to Rina's choice of lunch, but it was hard to tell whether they were encouraging or discouraging her.

Ranma herself had no such hesitation. She simply bit into her first block of noodles with a satisfying crunch. She then opened her highlighted copy of the script and got to work. She used her hand to block the words on the page as she went, trying to remember the lines without looking. At best, it was a minor success. After all of her efforts over the weekend, she felt much more proficient in Cinderella's speech pattern, but she had had much less success with the memorization. Only very occasionally was she able to recall what a line should be without checking it first, and each time she did check the script, she felt dumb for not having remembered such an obvious line on her own. The entire experience left her feeling frustrated.

Once lunch and its associated training was over, the afternoon classes resumed without note. There was the lackadaisical volleyball game in the primary gym, the further examination of the early Genpai War, and all of the other courses. Then came the after-class cleaning, and another school day was brought to a close.

Ranma had been tasked with turning in the daily log, and Yoshino accompanied her as she went to deliver it to the teacher. They then made their way to the Rose Mansion.

In contrast to the previous Friday, Ranma approached the other members of the Yamayurikai with a feeling of excitement. She had done a considerable amount of training over the past few days, and she knew that she had improved a great deal. It was time to prove it.

Sachiko, Shimako, and The Three Roses were all sitting around the table of the conference room when Ranma and Yoshino arrived. As Ranma pushed the biscuit-shaped door fully open, the rich aroma of coffee filled her nose, undoubtedly sourced from some of the steaming cups in front of each of the girls.

In the center of the table was a basket with some breads and pastries. Additionally, there was also a plate covered with sandwiches there. That was the topic of conversation as Ranma entered the room. Apparently Sei had thought it was her turn to bring snacks, which had result in there being "too much" food. Internally, Ranma dismissed Youko's obviously incorrect assessment of the situation. Externally, Ranma couldn't help but smile at the opportunity Sei's mistake presented.

Yoshino went to the tea service at the side of the room and started preparing herself a cup of tea. Ranma took a cup as well, but was very careful of the steaming electric kettle beside it as she did so. She carried the cup back to the ground floor and made her way to the kitchen to get some cold water for herself. By the time she returned to the conference room, Yoshino had already taken a seat and had a sandwich on a small plate in front of her. Ranma grabbed a plate for herself and took a sandwich as well as the largest piece of bread she could see. She then sat down in a chair at the table and eagerly started eating. Past experience suggested that once training started, she would have limited ability to partake of the food before her.

Ranma had only just taken her second bread roll when Rei entered the room.

"Gokigenyou," Rei said, greeting everybody as she walked in.

"Gokigenyou."

Yoshino stood up, walked back to the tea service, and began preparing another cup of tea.

"What's that?" Eriko asked.

"This?" Rei asked, holding up the piece of paper she was carrying. "It's a special delivery for Ranko-chan, courtesy of Minako-san. The newspaper club is humbly requesting her to fill out a questionnaire for them." She held it out in offer.

Ranma didn't respond to the sheet in any way. After all the trouble she had had with Minako and the others, there was no way she was going to get involved with them again.

When Ranma didn't take the questionnaire, Sachiko took it instead. She looked it over, and said, "It looks like they're asking a lot of basic questions. What's your blood type? What's your birthday?" She put it down. "You'd have thought that they'd have asked all of these things before they printed that article."

Several of the girls shook their head in bemusement.

"After what they did. You can tell them to take their questions and shove 'em," Ranma said emphatically. Her declaration was met with a small gasp.

"Ranko," Sachiko said, her voice a mixture of understanding and reproach. "I'm sure that everybody here can appreciate that sentiment. However, may I suggest that you decline more respectfully at this time, rather than telling them to 'shove them,' as it were?"

Ranma looked around, and saw several of the girls were giving quiet nods of agreement.

"Why? After all they did," Ranma said. She had no sympathy for them at all.

Sachiko said, "It's rarely a good idea to offend somebody. Once a relationship is damaged, it can be very difficult to restore, as I'm sure you're discovering right now with them. It's much better to leave the door open for a more positive relationship in the future, rather than making an outright enemy of the entire newspaper club."

"Who cares? You said in yourself. The Yamayurikai can just cut off their entire club," Ranma said. It was like Genma had said. Humoring somebody, or worse coddling them, was a waste of time; time that would be better spent on improving her martial arts. It wasn't as if there was anything to gain out of a relationship with them in the future. Strength was acquired through self-improvement, not through others, and especially not from the weak.

"It's not that easy. We have been entrusted with authority because we have demonstrated that we are worthy of it, and it would be reprehensible to violate that trust in a petty act of vengence," Sachiko said.

The others around the room were all nodding in agreement. Youko additionally had a proud smile on her face.

Ranma didn't understand the reasoning, but she had seen direct evidence of Sachiko's skill in verbal combat several times now, and she was very aware that she had never really learned any social skills in the past. Genma had always been being more focused on the physical aspects of fighting, which was presumably why she was undergoing this current training regiment to fill in some of the gaps in her arsenal.

She tried to follow Sachiko's thought process, but no matter how she contorted her mind, she couldn't make sense of it. Nevertheless, Ranma was always willing to learn from a master. This could be one of those nuances that, while on its own seemed arbitrary and capricious, once placed in the context of an entire school of practice, would make sense.

"Okay. Then how should I do that?" Ranma asked.

"There's no need to be complicated here. You can go back to them and simply tell them that you are respectfully declining at this time. Considering the recent past, if you'd like me to come along as well, I can do so," Sachiko said. She held the sheet out to Ranma

"Sure, I guess," Ranma said. She took the questionnaire this time.

"We can go tomorrow. We shouldn't keep everybody here waiting, and the newspaper club won't be expecting an answer before then anyway. I'll find you after classes are over," Sachiko said. Behind her, Yoshino placed the cup of tea she had prepared in front of Rei and then resumed her seat.

Youko nodded. She said, "Very well. We have dance practice tomorrow, but Kashiwagi-san said he would not be able to attend. The earliest he can come is Thursday."

"Thursday?" Eriko asked. "That's kind of late, isn't it? The festival's this Sunday, and that only gives us three days to practice with him. Will everything be okay?"

"It's going to have to be. What else can we do? He is the student council president of Hanadera; he has his own responsibilities over there," Youko said.

"I think it should be okay. Kashiwagi-san has a pretty good reputation," Sei said.

"Indeed. I'm more worried if we will be ready for him. We have the first costume fitting on Wednesday, too, so we won't have much time to practice before he arrives," Youko said.

It was left unsaid, but Ranma was sure that everybody was thinking about her. That was fine. She would show them what she was capable of shortly.

"How about if we skip that first fitting? We can try to do all of it in one big shot this Friday," Eriko said.

"That won't really work. After the handicrafts club finishes Cinderella's dress, the inventions club will need a couple of days to work on it, too," Youko said. "Besides, a delay wouldn't really be fair to either of them. Remember, they're just helping us out as a side project. I'm sure they'll all be busy with their own activities by the end of the week."

"I know. It's just..." Eriko said. She trailed off, her arms moving in abstract gestures of consternation.

"It is, but what can we do?" Youko asked. "Well, there's no use in worrying about things we can't control. We should focus on the things we can."

"Right. So the plan is to have dance practice tomorrow, the costume fitting on Wednesday, the first script practice with Kashiwagi-san on Thursday, the first dance practice with him on Friday, and then the final dress rehearsal of everything on Saturday?" Sei asked.

"Don't forget about the second costume fitting on Friday, too," Youko said.

"And all of the stuff we need to do as the festival's executive committee," Eriko said.

"We expected that, though. That's why none of us have any of the major roles, right? Ranko-chan and the others will still be able to focus on their practice, even when we're not here," Youko said.

"Yes," Eriko said. "At least this week won't be boring."

"Very true," Youko said. "Speaking of which, we should probably get started. I was thinking we should do a full run through of the entire play now to see what our weak points are, and then we can concentrate on those points for the rest of the day."

"That sounds good," a few girls said.

Youko looked over to Ranma and said, "Whenever you're ready."

Ranma pulled out her script, which was becoming worn from all of her handling of it over the past few days, and began reading it from the top.

Even by the end of the first page, Youko and the others visibly relaxed. Ranma's tongue danced around the flouncy language with the skill resultant from three days of intensive special training. She could have used more polish, but she now sounded more like a hesitant young woman than a foreigner in a level 4 Japanese Language Proficiency Test. It was as dramatic an improvement as Ranma had expected.

Eriko had had only just announced the upcoming ball when Ranma heard a quiet, hesitant knock at the front door. She looked around, but nobody else seemed to care, so she continued on. A few minutes later, while Sachiko and Shimako were discussing the different clothes they were going to wear to the ball, she heard another knock. It was even more hesitant than the first one had been.

Ranma asked, "Should we be getting that?" She casually gestured to the door.

Sachiko and Shimako paused in their planning of fashion accessories and looked over at her.

"Getting what?" Youko asked.

"The front door. Somebody knocked," Ranma said.

Youko sent a confused look to Sei. Sei matched the confused look, but she stood up and left the room despite that.

Sachiko and Shimako exchanged looks of their own, and then continued their scene with Ranma, Yoshino, and Eriko. They were nearing the conclusion when the conference room was invaded. Sei entered, and ten other girls followed behind her. They were walking excitedly and nervously, as if they were first-time tourists visiting the Temple of the Golden Pavilion who knew that they were going to be given a test about it at the end of their tour. Ranma recognized two of the girls as being from the group she had met the day before.

"The invention club is here to see to see Rosa Chinensis, and the handicrafts club is here to see Rosa Foetida," Sei said.

"Please excuse our interruption," the visiting girls said, bowing in semi-unison.

The rehearsal paused as The Three Roses all spoke to different subsets of the visiting girls. Youko met with the two girls from the invention club, the group Ranma had seen on Sunday, about the different gadgets and devices planned for the upcoming play. Eriko met with the four girls from the handicrafts club to confirm that the costume fitting was still scheduled for Wednesday. Sei met with the four remaining girls from the fine arts club who were demonstrating some of the samples of set backdrops they had brought. The Three Roses were all much more serious and business-like with the visitors as compared how Ranma typically saw them act.

Ranma took advantage of the break to grab another sandwich and another pastry. She quickly consumed both, well aware that once practiced resumed, she would once again be too busy to eat.

Once The Three Roses had concluded their discussions, one of the visiting girls asked, "Umm... would you mind if we stayed and watched?"

"Sure," Youko said brightly, which was met by a collective squeal of excitement from the girls. She turned back to Eriko, "I think we were at the scene where the step-family is preparing for the ball?"

Eriko nodded and then restarted the rehearsal, joined in by the others.

That scene concluded smoothly. In the momentary silence between it and the next scene, though, one of the girls observing from the side of the room could be heard whispering to another, "She's so cute. You just want to put her in your pocket and take her home."

The entire Yamayurikai heard her interruption and turned to look at her, which caused the relatively short girl in question to flush a bright red and virtually wither under the attention.

"I'm afraid I'll need to ask you to remain quiet if you want to watch," Youko said.

"O..of course. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," the girl hastily said. She frantically bowed in apology as she stepped backwards, the crowd helpfully parting such that she could escape from view.

The rehearsal then continued, with all of the impromptu audience members staying absolutely silent for the remainder of the session.

Overall, everything went well. Ranma was able to get through all of her lines without a hint of hesitation, repetition, or deviation. In all ways, it was decisively better than Friday's session had been. Sachiko, Youko, and the others all looked upon Ranma with approval, and Ranma basked in the glow. It was a satisfying validation of all the training she had done.

"Very good. I like the improvements. I don't think we have any particular weak points, besides Ranko-chan needing to memorize everything, of course. Hmm..." Youko said. "I think it may be best to focus on the meeting between between the prince and Cinderella today. That's probably one of the two scenes that everybody will most remember. Ranko-chan and Rei-chan, I'll work with you two on that. Why doesn't everybody else practice the ball preparation scene? We should start using those props we have downstairs."

"Sounds good," Eriko said.

"Thank you for letting us watch. Gokigenyou." The ten spectators took their leave.

Sachiko, Yoshino, Shimako, Eriko, and Sei left the room as well, leaving Ranma with Youko and Rei. Ranma took the opportunity to grab two more sandwiches and another bread roll from the almost empty supply. Those disappeared into her mouth even faster than the others had, considering how short a break the transition represented.

Ranma and Rei ended up going through the ball scene a few more times. They repeated individual lines and short segments this time, focusing on Ranma's pronunciation and emotions. They practiced for about an hour, at which point the other five members of the Yamayurikai re-entered the room.

"You're making great progress. Good job," Youko said.

"Good job," Rei said.

Ranma smiled at her triumph. She felt good about how she was doing. She was definitely catching up to the others.

"Please keep at it. Remember, the play is this Sunday," Youko said.

"I'll be ready," Ranma said confidently. The only major obstacle that remained in her way was the need to actually memorize the whole thing. However, she still had a week for that. It should be fine. She was getting more invested into the part, and her pride insisted that she do well.

"That's great," Sei said, "because that means we can spend tomorrow evening doing something special."

Eriko looked up from where she had picked up her book bag. She asked, "Special? Like what?"

Sei grinned at Eriko and said, "I'm glad you asked. Tomorrow's the one week anniversary of Ranko-chan coming to Lillian, right? I was thinking that we should have a celebration."

Her suggestion caught the attention of everybody in the room. Youko placed her book bag down on the chair in which she had previously been sitting and looked over. Yoshino and Rei stopped from where they had begun collecting dishes and looked at Sei as well.

The idea seized Ranma's imagination. If they were going to have a celebration, then they'd need to hold it somewhere. It was the perfect opportunity to go to Sachiko's mansion. The question was how could she direct the conversation in that direction.

Sei continued without a pause in her words, "We could have a dinner party, right here in the Rose Mansion, with all the Yamayurikai." As she spoke, she spun her finger all around in a small circle in the air.

Ranma mentally cursed. Even faster than it had appeared, the opportunity was slipping away, as mirage-like as a judo grandmaster's apparently undefended flank. It left her feeling disappointed. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but be excited for the idea in and of itself. A dinner party meant food, and she was always interested in food.

That last thought reminded her, and she took a look across the table, but the plate of sandwiches and basket of baked goods were both empty.

"That sounds exciting," Eriko said.

"I agree, but tomorrow? We're short enough on time as it is," Youko said. "It would probably be better to do something at her three-week anniversary. The festival will be over, and we'll have a bit more time to relax."

"A one-week anniversary is much better than a three-week one, right?" Sei asked. "Besides, seeing how Kashiwagi-san can't come tomorrow, we've got to have some extra time, right?"

"Yes, but I was thinking we could use that time for some more practice with the script," Youko said.

"We could, but we're much further ahead with dance practice than anybody would have guessed, and the script is going better than expected, too," Sei said.

"I think it's a good idea. We've all been working hard, and I think we've earned a celebration. We don't want to overdo it, right?" Eriko asked.

"That is true," Youko said. She turned to look at Ranma. "Ranko-chan, you're the one who has the most to do. What do you think?"

Ranma didn't hesitate in the slightest. She immediately said, "We should do it." She was already imagining what dinner would be like.

Youko nodded and turned back to Sei. She asked, "In that case, what kind of celebration were you thinking of?"

"I was thinking we'd start with a big dinner party first. The Three Roses can bring the ingredients, the petite souers can do the cooking, and then we'd all eat together. After that, we have a formal welcoming of Ranko-chan to Lillian. We can do something like a small version of the welcoming ceremony we hold every May for all the first-year students," Sei said.

Shimako lightly clapped her hands together and said, "That sounds like fun. We do have that kitchen we never really use. If everybody else is able to, then I'd be willing to cook after the dance." She glanced over at Yoshino.

Yoshino gave a small nod. She said, "I okay with helping out."

"I'd be happy to cook, too," Rei said, raising her hand as she spoke.

"I could also be available," Sachiko said.

"I'm in," Ranma said. She would have preferred it if it had been at Sachiko's mansion, but she wasn't going to turn away free food, even if she did need to cook it herself. She was always the one to cook on the road, anyway; Martial Arts Stir Frying was one of her more commonly used set of techniques on her perpetual training trip.

"Okay. The ceremony itself should be fairly straightforward. We still have those extra medals in the storage room. I can get them while dinner is being prepared. What about the corsages? Do we want to do those?" Youko asked.

"That might be a bit hard on such short notice," Eriko said. "How about we just use plain roses instead? I can get some from the greenhouse. I'm sure the gardening club won't mind."

"Then I think we're all in agreement?" Youko asked. The girls around the room all nodded in response.

"Great. In that case, the next question to address is what should be on the menu," Sei said.

Shimako already had a sheet of paper and a pencil out in front of her.

Sei continued, "Does anybody have any requests?" She looked down at Ranma. "As the guest of honor, I believe that Ranko-chan should get the first choice."

"I'm good with anything," Ranma said. She was more interested in the quantity of dishes, not the form they happened to take. Good food was good, but more food was better.

"Really?" Yoshino asked. "In that case, you said you enjoyed cooking, right?"

"I guess so," Ranma said. It was more the eating that she liked, but if she needed to cook it herself, then that was a price she was more than willing to pay.

"What kind of things do you usually cook?" Yoshino asked.

"Whatever happens to be around. I guess stuff like stir fried meat," Ranma said. In the wilderness, she could usually catch something if she put her mind to it, even if that something was less palatable than could be hoped for. Frying was an easy and effective way to cook whatever it was she happened to catch and make it taste reasonable. It was almost an axiom that frying made everything better.

"Then how about some stir fried chicken?" Sei asked.

"Sure," Ranma said.

Shimako wrote it down.

"That's a really good idea. No matter how early we finish dance practice, we won't have much time for preparation. Frying things is pretty fast," Rei said. "So how about if we add some omurice to the menu?"

"Then we should probably have some salad to balance them out," Sachiko said. She positioned herself such that she could read the paper from over Shimako's shoulder.

Shimako wrote both of those ideas down.

"If we're going to be cooking rice, we can make some onigiri, too," Yoshino said.

Shimako wrote that down as well.

"I have a good idea. What if we combine the chicken and the eggs together? It can be like an oyakodon, but fried rather than simmered," Rei said. She walked to the other side of Shimako so she could look at the paper as well.

"And tamagoyaki," Shimako said. She wrote it and Rei's suggestion down.

"I think that's probably enough. What do we have?" Sei asked.

Shimako picked up the paper and said, "We have stir fried chicken, omurice, salad, onigiri, oyakodon variant, and tamagoyaki."

"That's a lot of eggs," Eriko said.

"It will make the shopping easy, at least," Youko said.

The Three Roses worked with Shimako to determine who would buy what. Meanwhile, Ranma drew the curtains around the room shut. As she did so, she kept a close eye on Yoshino and Rei as they resumed their collecting of dirty cups and plates. The coffee and tea may have grown tepid over the hours, but Ranma was taking no chances, especially with the electric kettle still plugged in.

Once they had completed everything, all of the other girls left, leaving Ranma behind in the Rose Mansion for another evening of training.

Ranma paced back and forth in the conference room as she practiced, trying to project her voice as if to a listening audience. Much like at lunch, she deliberately used her hand to cover the script as she went, but it wasn't going well. Try as she might, she simply couldn't think of what she should be saying. Once she gave up and looked, it felt so obvious that she couldn't understand how she had been stymied, until she tried to think of the next line and became stuck once again.

A moderate amount of time later, Sachiko entered the room. She was carrying a few boxed drinks and bags of snacks with her.

The offering wasn't enough to break through Ranma's annoyance, though. She seemed to have hit a proverbial wall with her training. While she could adroitly read "Your highness is most generous with his attentions towards one who is as inadequate as I find myself to be in your company" without a single fumble now, the moment she covered the page with her hand, the words all blended together with hundreds of other lines scattered throughout the play. The rare times she did manage to remember a line, she wasn't sure which of the remaining lines still floating around her head followed next. The cycle of forgetfulness, followed by a peek at the page, followed by feelings idiocy, followed by forgetfulness repeated itself over and over, page after page.

It was infuriating. She could memorize a 70-step kata almost unconsciously. She wasn't sure why she was having so much trouble with this. She fumed before eventually throwing the script hard against the table in frustration.

"Is something wrong?" Sachiko asked.

"That thing," Ranma said, pointing at the rumpled booklet lying innocently on the table, "is terrible. The lines keep getting mixed up."

"I see," Sachiko said. "Would like some help?"

"Sure," Ranma said. She was more than willing to learn any secret techniques that the verbal master would impart to her.

"It's usually easier to practice with a partner. Their lines will help cue you to what you have to say next," Sachiko said.

That made sense. It was the exact same phenomenon Ranma had experienced when learning the rare paired kata. Those always did seem to be a bit easier to work out, given a decent partner.

Sachiko stood up and asked, "What part are you working on right now?"

"The part at the ball, when the prince is talking to Cinderella," Ranma said.

"Oh?" Sachiko asked. The tenor and bearing of her voice changed, at once sounding more robust and gallant. "I have searched far and wide and never seen one such as yourself. Truly throughout all the kingdom, there is none who can compare with your singular beauty."

Ranma was shocked into silence. Sachiko had just recited the prince's first line at the ball.

Sachiko waited for a second. She then gave a beckoning gesture with her hand and repeated, "Truly throughout all the kingdom, there is none who can compare with your singular beauty."

Ranma closed her eyes and tried to think. She had just been reading that page a few minutes ago. What had come after that? What had come after that? What had come after that?

"... As... charming as.. it may be, such a falsehood is unbecoming from one as exalted as your highness."

"Perish the thought of falsehood, for how could one possibly speak untruly when your presence itself is enough to remind one of the most heavenly of angels?"

Ranma kept her eyes closed as she thought. The next line flashed in her memory, complete with pink highlight. She said, "... Your highness is most generous with his attentions towards one who is as inadequate as I find myself to be in your company."

"And modest as well as seemly. This yet further demonstration of the veracity of my judgment."

They continued back and forth, reciting the entire encounter. From the first meeting to Cinderella's panicked flight at the stroke of midnight, Sachiko was flawless in her recital. In contrast, Ranma hesitated at each line, and she had to pull up the script twice to check it. Even so, the run through with Sachiko was a relief. It proved that Ranma had managed to absorb most of Cinderella's part, even if her presentation had been jerky and halting.

"There, see? Much easier," Sachiko said once they had finished.

"It is," Ranma said. The additional context of Sachiko's recitations did make it much more apparent which of the numerous disparate things taunting at the edge of Ranma's memories was in fact the correct next thing to say.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was decidedly louder than the one from the visiting clubs in the afternoon, and the noise carried throughout the relative quiet building.

"It sounds like dinner has arrived," Sachiko said.

"Dinner?" Ranma asked, perking up at the idea.

"Yes. We've been working late for the past few days, and I thought it was better to arrange something, although now that I think about it, earlier you did eat quite a bit. I'm not sure if you're still hungry," Sachiko said.

"No, no, no. I'll eat. I mean, it'd be a shame to waste it all, right?" Ranma asked. She hadn't really eaten that much, only maybe five sandwiches, two rolls of bread, and two pastries. Besides, long experience traveling through the wilderness had taught Ranma that it was never the correct choice to skip food when it presented itself; it was impossible to tell when the next meal would come, and by the time the regret came, it would be too late.

"Okay, but don't force yourself. You don't need to feel obligated," Sachiko said.

Far from feeling obligated, Ranma was more thanking her good fortune for the second unexpected bounty as she followed Sachiko through the hallway and down the creaking stairs.

Sachiko opened the door to the dark night outside and revealed two people: the chauffeur who had been picking her up after training, and another pretty, young woman. The chauffeur was dressed in her uniform, and he was carrying two large covered trays stacked on top of each other. The other woman was dressed in a black dress with a white frilly apron, and she was carrying a large bag in her hands.

"Good evening, Sachiko-sama," the pair said.

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said. "Please come in."

"Pardon for the intrusion," the pair said upon entering.

Sachiko led them to the upstairs conference room. Once inside, the woman in the black dress pulled a tablecloth from her bag and spread it out on top of the large table. She then took out two place settings and laid them on the tablecloth with professional efficiency.

Ranma sat at one setting, and Sachiko sat at the other.

The woman in the black dress then served them. In front of each of them she placed a tray, uncovered it, and subsequently removed the lids from all of the bowls and plates inside. It revealed something of a miniature banquet. There was a bowl of salad with an orange sauce; a plate with some tofu covered in a brown sauce; several plates of sushi, including squid, eel, and various fishes; and a bowl with some sweet rice balls in a translucent sauce. The sight of it all brought an enormous smile to Ranma's face. It was like eating out, only the food had come to her.

"I believe that Ranko would prefer some ordinary, cold water," Sachiko said, drawing Ranma's attention away from the food in front of her. The woman had been about to pour Ranma a cup of tea before Sachiko's interruption.

Ranma nodded her head in agreement at the woman's inquisitive look.

"There is a kitchen on the ground floor," Sachiko said.

"Understood," the woman in the black dress said. She screwed the cap onto the thermos she was carrying and placed it back into her bag. She then picked up the cup from Ranma's tray and walked out of the room with it.

Ranma didn't bother to wait for her to return to started eating.

Even at the first bite, Ranma could tell the food was excellent, which was even more impressive as all of it was approaching room temperature. The fish almost melted in their tender flakiness. The tofu was seasoned to perfection in the delightful savory glaze. The rice balls felt amazing in her mouth, filling it with a sweetness which was satisfying without being too much of a good thing. The dishes were better than any restaurant Ranma had ever eaten in, and were in fact better than she herself could prepare. They were even good enough to present a serious challenge to the student council of that one cooking school she had attended years ago, assuming the chef's skill in combat was equally up to the confrontation.

"How did you know the prince's lines?" Ranma asked Sachiko as she ate.

"You mean in the play? I thought I told you earlier. I memorized the whole thing," Sachiko said.

"I thought you meant you'd learned all of Cinderella's and Sister B's lines," Ranma said.

"No. I learned all of them. I find it easier that way. It's like I said; it's easier to remember what goes where when you have the cues," Sachiko said. "Besides, I like the story."

"In that case, then why did you not want to play Cinderella?" Ranma asked. She had assumed that it was because Sachiko wasn't interested, or that she hadn't been willing or able to learn the part. It seemed like none of those were actually the root cause.

Sachiko didn't answer. A quick glance revealed the vague tension in her face. She answered in a voice every bit as dark and gloomy as she now appeared, "It's complicated."

"I see," Ranma said. She wasn't sure what the story behind Sachiko's recalcitrance was, but she felt bad for reminding Sachiko of it. "Sorry."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Sachiko said.

The rest of the meal was relatively quiet. The serving woman occasionally darted in to refill a cup or to remove an empty plate, but her actions were unobtrusive and easy to ignore. Sachiko slowly recovered her equanimity as time went by.

Ranma finished her meal much faster than Sachiko did, and she had to wait while Sachiko finished the second half of her dinner. By the time Sachiko had done so, she had regained her typical luminescence. The serving woman then re-covered the two trays, picked them up, and handed them to the chauffeur to carry.

"How long do you expect to stay?" the chauffeur asked Sachiko. Meanwhile, the other woman was gathering the remaining linens.

Sachiko looked at Ranma, redirecting the question to her.

"I don't know. Maybe we should practice the whole thing one more time?" Ranma asked.

"We'll be approximately an hour," Sachiko said.

"In that case, I will bring Yamamura-san back to the estate and then wait for you at the front of the school," the chauffeur said.

"Understood," Sachiko said.

"Good evening," Yamamura said with a small bow. Beside her, the chauffeur also gave a small bow. They then both took their leave.

Ranma spent the next hour training with Sachiko. The exercise proved three things. The first was that Sachiko hadn't been exaggerating; she really did have the entire play memorized. The second was that Sachiko was skilled in her acting abilities; she was able to change her tenor and speech patterns so well that Ranma had no problem distinguishing the three step-sisters, the step-mother, the wizard, and the prince from each other. The third, and the most important, thing it proved was that Ranma actually did have most of the play memorized already. With another person to play off against, the various scattered lines floating around in her memories took shape, and she was able to find the correct place for most of them. She was back to hesitating and stuttering in her presentation, but given the time to think about it, she probably had about three-fourths of all the lines figured out. It was much better than she had feared.

The two of them then packed up for the evening.

A quick glance at a clock caused something of a surprise. It was far later than Ranma had thought it was. Upon consideration, it shouldn't have been that surprising; they had had the practice with the Yamayurikai, the interruption of the three clubs, dinner, and then more practice. Of course it was late. Despite knowing that intellectually, though, it somehow didn't feel real. The time with Sachiko had just blinked by. The clock didn't lie, though, and it really was the dead of the night when they left the Rose Mansion behind and made their way to the tall gateway at the front entrance of Lillian.

As they walked through the darkened campus, Ranma considered the situation. She still had to figure out some way to get invited to Sachiko's home. The party in her honor would have been the perfect opportunity, but that was now an impossibility, and she didn't have any other ideas how to maneuver Sachiko into inviting her. Besides that, even if she could figure out some other way to trick Sachiko into offering her an invitation now, it was getting late enough that Ranma wouldn't have much time to observe anything before it would be time to go to sleep.

It appeared that Ranma would not be able to accomplish the next task of her training today. She wasn't worried, though. A week was a long time, and she was sure an opening would present itself at some point.

At the front entrance of Lillian, the chauffeur was waiting in the large black car as she had promised. She exited the car and held open a door for Sachiko.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Sachiko drove off with the chauffeur, and Ranma began her own trip back to her camp.

As she walked, she pondered Sachiko's reaction to her earlier question. What had caused the normally confident and bright Sachiko to darken so much? Was there anything Ranma do to help? She found she couldn't stop thinking about it, the question looping around in her head.

Once Ranma returned to camp, the question was forcibly driven from her mind. The daily training session with Genma occurred, and it was especially vigorous to make up for the shortened time frame caused by the late hour of her arrival. They fought along extra hard through the streets and the parks of the neighborhood.

Afterward, an exhausted Ranma returned and collapsed onto her cold bedroll. Once there, without the exertions of sparring to distract her anymore, the question of what had bothered Sachiko once again plagued her for the brief time it took her to fall asleep.

* * *

Last Updated: October 22, 2020


	9. New Welcome

Chapter 9: New Welcome

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou, Ranko-san."

"Gokigenyou."

"Ranko-san, gokigenyou."

If there had been any change in the reception Ranma received around Lillian's campus as compared to the previous morning, it was too minor for her to notice. Pretty much every girl who came near her greeted her, and the ones further away would subtly look and talk amongst themselves. The only real difference she saw was that the sign counting down to the festival now displayed, "05."

It was a different matter once she walked into the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom. The spark of interest she received was still decidedly more voluminous than when Yoshino entered, but it seemed to be slowly settling down. There was still a plethora of girls greeting her, but the flood of questions had become closer to a trickle, and even those stopped when Ranma took her seat and opened her copy of the script of Cinderella. Thereafter, her classmates left her alone to do her morning training.

With Sachiko's newfound strategy in mind, Ranma tried a different technique this time. Rather than covering the entire page with her hand, she went line by line. She would read what the step-family was supposed to say and then try to think what her response should be. Only once she had it in mind would she reveal the next line to confirm whether or not she had been correct. It was slow, but she was definitely correct more often than not.

The rest of the day proceeded as could be expected. Ami's announcement of Tanezaki's arrival signaled the start of morning classes. It had been a week since Ranma had begun taking classes in Lillian. While the teachers would still frequently reference concepts or details from back in August and September which would leave Ranma in ignorant confusion, naturally the focus of discussion was on the more recent past. Those topics, Ranma could handle with only a modest amount of difficulty. She was definitely behind the rest of the class, but just as certainly, she was catching up. It was only a matter of time.

When lunch came about, and Ranma noticed a couple of other classmates trying out some instant noodles as she went back to her new script training regiment.

After that was the afternoon classes. They were in a similar state as the morning classes, except for PE class within which she was so far ahead of the others that it wasn't even worth thinking about.

Finally, the formal academic day was closed out with the daily cleaning duties.

Somewhat less typically, Sachiko arrived at the door a few minutes later. Despite the fact that two-thirds of the girls had already left, her entrance caused a flutter of excitement as large as Ranma's own entrance had in the morning. It manifested as subtle stares and quiet whispers amongst the first-year students.

"Sachiko-sama, gokigenyou," Ami said quickly, her words almost in a squeak.

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said. "I'm here to see Ranko."

"Of course," Ami said. Despite the fact that everybody in the relatively empty room had seen and heard the exchange, Ami still walked over to where Ranma was talking with Yoshino and said, "Sachiko-sama is here to see you."

"Right," Ranma said. She looked up at Yoshino. "I'll see you in the secondary gym." She then picked up her book bag and walked over to Sachiko.

"Shall we?" Sachiko asked. She then led Ranma out of the room.

As they walked through the hallways, Sachiko said, "It's really easy. You just need to greet them and tell them you respectfully decline to answer their questionnaire at this time."

"That's it?" Ranma asked. Considering how much trouble she had had dealing with Minako earlier, Sachiko's suggestion seemed too easy. There had to be a catch of some kind.

"That's it. It's best to give a single clear declaration to everybody at once. If you leave any ambiguity, it will only cause confusion and more trouble in the end," Sachiko said. "If they give you any trouble, I'll be right outside to help."

"Okay," Ranma said. She was more than a little doubtful, but she was willing to give it a try. Sachiko was the master, after all.

They reached the room which served as the newspaper club's headquarters. From outside the door, Ranma could hear Minako loudly talking to another girl about something regarding the Third-year Camellia Group. Once Ranma opened the door, though, she found herself once again the center of attention as Minako fell quiet and turned to address her.

"Gokigenyou," Minako said as Ranma walked into the door. "Thanks for coming. We appreciate your help with the next issue of the newspaper."

"Uhh... actually, I'm not going to," Ranma said. What had Sachiko said? "I respectfully decline at this time."

Minako winced, as if in physical pain. That gave Ranma a sense of satisfaction, even if it was tinged by a slight feeling of guilt. A sigh could be heard from the others in the room as well.

"I... understand..." Minako said, forcing the words out of her mouth. "You said, 'at this time.' I hope that you will find an opportunity to assist us in the future."

Ranma was about to reflexively reject her categorically, but the words of Sachiko came back to her. She had said that damaging a relationship was a bad idea.

"We'll see," Ranma said.

"I suppose that is all we can hope for," Minako said.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said and then left.

Sachiko was waiting for her outside the room. She asked, "How did it go?"

"Fine, I guess," Ranma said. She wondered what the difference was between what had just happened as compared to the numerous skirmishes she had had with Minako throughout the previous week. She pondered that as the pair made their way away from the newspaper club headquarters, Minako's voice once again audible from behind its closed door, and across the school grounds to the secondary gym. Despite the long walk through the campus, though, she could come up with no idea.

At the front entrance of the gym, both Ranma and Sachiko chose to not don any vinyl slippers and instead continued inward wearing just their threefold white socks. They entered, joining the collection of about two dozen girls inside the gym proper. All of the Yamayurikai were already present, with the sole exception of Eriko. Ranma and Sachiko were apparently the last ones to arrive, though, as upon their entry, Youko mentioned that Eriko was attending to an issue of some kind.

Everybody took their places with a minimum amount of fuss. This time, Rei was partnered with a plump girl slightly taller than she was, and Ranma was partnered with an even taller girl with a thick braid. Youko pressed a button on the CD player at the side of the room, and the air was filled with mellow western music. They then began.

Ranma could see the ensemble of girls drifting into and out of her peripheral vision as she followed her partner, but she forced herself to remain relaxed and rely on her partner to not lead her into a collision or some other problem. The girl proved to be more proficient than Rei had been, too, with Ranma's feet not being stepped on once during the whole sequence.

As Sei had predicted the day before, practice quickly completed. Youko did offer some modest adjustments throughout the session, but her instructions were more focused on the group choreography than on any specific dance steps or dance pairs. From start to end, the entire practice took about an hour. They then wrapped up, with several exchanges of "good job" and "gokigenyou" being heard in the air.

After they left the gym, the Yamayurikai made their way to the Rose Mansion. It was finally time for the thing that Ranma had been most looking forward to for the entire day: dinner. She could almost taste the chicken, eggs, and rice already. The main issue was that she would need to avoid any hot water as she helped prepare it. That was certainly a worry, but seeing how soup was not on the menu, as long as she stayed away from any cleanup going on, it shouldn't be a major risk.

Eriko was not present in the Rose Mansion when they arrived. The problem she was working on must have been complicated. Regardless, Youko split off and walked up the creaking stairs on her own while Sei led the rest of the group onward to the kitchen.

The kitchen was decidedly modest. It was as different from the enormous kitchen stadium Ranma had once fought within as it was different from a makeshift pot hanging over a wood campfire that Ranma had sometimes cooked upon in the wilderness. It had an electric oven with stove-top burners, a sink, a refrigerator, some counter space, and several drawers and cabinets. It seemed like a fine, if plain, place to make dinner.

Sei opened the refrigerator and started pulling out various ingredients from within. Meanwhile, Rei and Sachiko pulled out some bowls, plates, and knives from the drawers and cabinets.

Ranma grabbed an apron from the wall, put it on, and rolled up her sleeves. She then picked up two knives and started idly twiddling them in her hands as she surveyed the arena before her. The focal point of her assault would be the chicken and the eggs. Secondary weapons included spinach, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, daikon radishes, broccoli, and a variety of other vegetables spread out on the counter. The spice rack offered fewer utility tools than could be hoped for, but there was adequate supply of soy sauce, mirin, salt, sugar, vinegar, and oil for all but the most specialized of techniques.

"Can you maybe not do that?" Rei asked.

"Hmm?" Ranma asked. She looked up at Rei, who had taken a step back away from her. In fact, all of the girls had stepped back. They were all focused on her hands, where she was spinning two knives like they were pistols in an old western movie. "Oh, right." Ranma caught the knives and held them steady.

"Thank you," Rei said, although she and everybody else still kept their distance from Ranma.

Ranma approached the vegetables, and said, "Let's get to this." It was time to execute.

She spread out three plates and threw some tomatoes, carrots, and daikon radishes into the air. As they fell, Ranma flourished her knives through them in a flurry. The sliced vegetables continued to fall and landed onto the plates in neat piles.

The girls looked on with wide eyes. Rei edged in closer, keeping a close eye on Ranma, and picked up one of the slices of carrots. She said, "I guess that's one way to do it, but I'm thinking maybe we should have Yoshino and Shimako do the cutting." The other girls nodded.

"Why don't you put the knives down? You can do the cooking with Rei. I'll handle the rice, and then help Shimako and Yoshino-chan," Sachiko said.

Ranma shrugged, causing Rei to shy away from her again. If they were going to do the food preparation, that was fine. She could handle the frying just as easily. She left the knives on the counter, and the others visibly sighed in response. Ranma then walked over to the oven, placed a wok and a pan onto the stove-top, and turned on the heating elements.

Sei sidled over to Ranma's side and asked, "Where'd you learn to cut things like that?"

Ranma looked up to Sei and said, "I picked up the basics in a school I used to go to. Everything there was focused on cooking. They had daily competitions, and the best chefs formed the student council."

"I thought you said your last school used dressage competitions," Sachiko said.

"Dressage?" Yoshino asked. She sent a questioning look at Ranma.

"That was later. This school was a long time ago," Ranma said.

"And was everybody there so... flamboyant?" Rei asked.

"Some more, some less," Ranma said. She didn't really consider her techniques that flamboyant. Now Saito, Kobayashi, and the others, they had been flamboyant. She, on the other hand, was far more utilitarian focused.

"Is that so? Now I'm really curious what your cooking is like," Sei said. She reached over, picked up a daikon radish, and stepped back out of the way. She then loitered in the corner of the room, idly tossing the vegetable from hand to hand as she observed Ranma.

"Just you watch," Ranma said.

Some people cooked with love. They would spare no effort, meticulously performing each step until their affection would shine through in the taste of the final dish. Ranma was not such a person. Whenever she had tried to imitate somebody like Megishima, she had always ended up past time with substandard results.

Instead, Ranma cooked with her fighting spirit: fast movements, decisive heat, and bold use of flavors. Her techniques served her adequately in martial arts cooking duels, and they were almost as applicable in a venue where the ingredients didn't explode.

She cracked the eggs and hurled them into a mixing bowl. Into that she flung in sugar, soy sauce, salt, and mirin. She then attacked the mixture with a wooden spoon until it was a consistent emulsion. Then it was time for the main event.

The attack on the hot pan in front of her began with a raid of oil. After that had had a moment to prepare, she followed it up with the general assault of the egg mixture she had created. It seared in a fine layer on the pan with a satisfying sizzling sound. As it cooked, she flipped it, rolled it, and eventually tossed it high into the air. As the tamagoyaki fell, she snatched it with her bare hand and took a bite of the still-steaming roll.

It was as near to perfection as she was able to make.

Behind her, she Sei and Rei, and occasionally another girl from around the room, were staring at her. Ranma disregarded them all. Spectators were a non-issue in a duel, and becoming distracted was anywhere from foolhardy to suicidal.

Ranma practically inhaled the rest of that tamagoyaki and then started over. She tossed some more oil onto the pan, followed it with more egg mixture, and cooked it into a roll. This time she deposited the completed tamagoyaki onto an empty plate beside her. She repeated the process again and again until the mixing bowl was empty and she had a stack of cooked rolls next to her. They were far from the prettiest things ever, but Ranma had confidence in both their texture and their taste.

By this point, Shimako and Yoshino had finished cutting their vegetables and brought some plates of them over. They had approached their cutting much more timidly than Ranma herself would have. Putting aside the slowness, which would have resulted in a defeat if this were a martial arts cooking match, their knife-work was passable.

Ranma poured some more oil into the wok and then lobbed the offered vegetables into it. The satisfying sound of sizzling once again filled the room. This was followed up with by some salt, soy sauce, mirin, and a touch of the too few spices she had. She then once again launched into battle, challenging the sturdy wok aggressively with her wooden spoon.

About a minute later, she grabbed a piece of carrot and tossed it into her mouth to taste it. It tasted a bit thin, so she threw some sugar and more soy sauce into the wok. She cooked the mixture for a few more seconds before trying a piece of broccoli. It was much better. Ranma nodded to herself, tossed the mixture into the air, and caught it all in a neat pile on a clean plate.

The chicken and vegetable used a different mix of seasonings, but the same principles applied. Likewise, the chicken and eggs were quickly cooked together into the oyakodon variant on the menu.

Finally, once the rice had finished, and Ranma completed the omurice and fried rice dishes with elan.

Rei and Shimako handled the final plating. They separated each of the foods into eighths and distributed the portions onto serving dishes. Each of the preparations had a frilly and delicate touch reminiscent of Shimako's lunch the previous week, but the size of the portions was smaller than Ranma would have preferred. It was something of a disappointment how much food shrank when divided by eight. At least Ranma had gotten some early snacks in the form of her taste tests.

Once they had finished, it was time to bring the meals up to the dining room. Ranma was sure that one of the plates had marginally more on it than the others, and she made sure to grab for that one. Sei took one as well, although for some reason she placed her raw daikon radish and a chef's knife on top of it before picking it up. The other girls each took a plate, too, excepting Sachiko and Rei who both took two.

They carried the food up the stairs, through the biscuit-shaped door, and into the dining room. Inside, Youko and Eriko were sitting at the large table next to each other with some papers spread out between them. Youko had a red rose pinned to the front of her dress, and Eriko had a yellow one pinned to the front of hers. They were discussing something about the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group, but that quickly came to an end when the first of the dinner plates entered. Youko quickly gathered the papers and put them into her book bag while Eriko clapped at the arrival.

The plates were quickly distributed around the table, and everybody took a seat.

"Itadakimasu." The communal call was said by all the people around the table, signaling the start of the meal.

Ranma began with the onigiri. The sour bite of pickled plum in the center caused her mouth to water, its electric shock of flavor counterpointing the relatively plain rice surrounding it. She finished it in three bites.

"Rei, you've really outdone yourself today," Eriko said. She took another bite of the omurice she had almost drowned with ketchup in front of her.

Ranma quickly moved on to eating her salad. It was crisp and tangy, giving a nice crunchy texture after the softness of the rice ball.

"You're right. It is delicious, but you should really thanking Ranko-chan. She's the one who did most of the cooking today," Rei said. She was interweaving bites of tamagoyaki with bites of salad.

"Ranko-chan made this?" Eriko asked.

"She did. She has a very unusual cooking style," Sei said.

"That's one way of putting it," Rei said. Yoshino and Shimako nodded in agreement.

"Marry me, please," Eriko said. She had fallen out of her chair into a kneeling position towards Ranma and held both of her hands upward in supplication.

"Hmm?" Ranma asked. She had continued on to her fried vegetables. They had a tantalizing mixture of salty, sweet, and savory, as she had known they would have from her earlier taste tests.

"Would you kindly please not tease my petite soeur," Sachiko said sternly.

"Really, this is quite good," Youko said, before taking another bite of the fried vegetables on her plate. "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

"Here and there," Ranma said. She had started in earnest at that cooking-focused school years ago, but at least half of her techniques she had developed on her own since then. Cooking on the road with limited supplies had forced a great deal of both practice and creativity upon her.

"Ranko was telling us how she used to go to a school where everything there was determined by how well you could cook," Sachiko said. She ate decidedly more deliberately than the others did. The origiri, which the other girls had just bitten into using their hands, Sachiko carefully cut with a fork and knife.

"Even the student council," Yoshino said. She put a large scoop of fried rice into her mouth.

Ranma did likewise, quickly scooping her fried rice into her mouth.

"Is that true?" Youko asked.

Ranma swallowed hard and then said, "Yeah."

"What a curious way to run a student council," Youko said. She then took a bite of oyakodon.

"It sounds exciting," Eriko said.

Yoshino finished chewing another large bite, of onigiri this time, and then said, "Now I'm curious. If you can cook like this, then why are you always eating instant noodles?"

Ranma momentarily pocketed the piece of omurice she was chewing into the side of her mouth and said, "I don't really have much time to cook, and there's not that much available around here to cook with, either." She then finished chewing and swallowed.

"Not much to cook with? What do you mean?" Yoshino asked. "There's supermarkets everywhere, and convenience stores, too."

"Yeah, but by that point, it's easier to get preprepared stuff," Ranma said. It was different in the wilderness, but in a city, ready-made foods were just easier. Besides, any time spent cooking was time which could instead be spent on training.

"I guess," Rei said. She looked confused. "But then..." She was interrupted by a knock from the entrance of the Rose Mansion.

Ranma was the closest to the door, so she shoved her last bit of the oyakodon into her mouth and stood up to answer it. She had almost finished her plate, anyway.

She walked through the hallway, down the stairs, and opened the door.

"Gokigenyou," the girl at the entrance said. She was short with her hair up in two short ponytails. Behind her were two other girls, one tall with short hair, and the other thin with two long braids. "Are The Three Roses present? The go club would like to speak with them."

"Sure, come in," Ranma said.

The girls hesitantly looked around as they entered, acting like nervous tourists entering into a temple shrine.

Ranma led them up the stairs and into the dining room. As she entered, she said, "The go club is here to see The Three Roses."

"Excuse... oh... oh my..." the short girl said as she caught sight of the dinner party in front of her. The other two slowed to a halt right behind her.

"Yes? Can we help you?" Youko asked.

"Umm... We're sorry to intrude. Umm... We have a bit of trouble. The chairs we wanted to borrow for our cafe appear to not be available," the short girl said.

"I see," Youko said. "Can it wait until tomorrow? As you can see, we're in the middle of something right now."

"Of course, Rosa Chinensis," the girl said.

"Very well. In that case, I'll check with you tomorrow after class," Youko said.

"Thank you very much. Gokigenyou," the girl said. She bowed, accompanied by the others.

Ranma returned to her seat while the three girls left.

"There's always something every year. How many groups do you think missed some order this time?" Eriko asked.

"Too many, but that's why we have that emergency fund, right?" Youko asked.

The rest of the dinner was filled with light conversation on various inconsequential topics. The only unusual thing which happened was that occasionally, one or another of the girls would get a rose pinned to the front of her dress. Sachiko, Sei, and Rei ended up with a red, white, and yellow rose respectively.

Eriko was the last to finish eating, and her expression of gratitude for the meal brought it to its conclusion.

Overall it had been a very pleasant experience, being delicious as well as relaxing. Ranma felt satisfied.

A few moments after Eriko had put her chopsticks down, Youko rose to her feet. The action naturally drew the attention of everybody to her.

"Now that we have completed dinner, there is some business to which we must attend," Youko said. She took a few steps away from the table to an open area, turned around, and directed her attention towards Ranma. "Every year in May, we have a welcoming ceremony for all of the new first-year students joining us. It's a joyous celebration, marking the beginning of a young lady's life in Lillian.

"However, as we all know, Ranko-chan was not a student of Lillian at that point, and thus was not able to join in that celebration. Nevertheless, missing such an important milestone would be a travesty, and it would be remiss of us to allow that to happen.

"Therefore, today, on the one-week anniversary of Ranko-chan's joining of Lillian..." there was some energetic, but quiet, clapping from around the room, "... we have the perfect opportunity to rectify this situation."

Sachiko, Eriko, Sei, and Rei all stood up and took positions near Youko. Their roses were prominent on their uniforms, denoting to which rose family each girl was a member.

Youko slightly raised her voice, as if she were proclaiming an announcement into a room modestly larger than the one they were actually within. "So, to the new first-year students, let me begin by offering my congratulations on your entry into high school. All of us older students happily welcome our new younger sisters. Together, let us enjoy our time in this school in a manner in which Maria-sama will approve.

"As I am sure everybody here already knows of the Yamayurikai and our role within the school, we can move on to the presentation of the commemorative medallions. When your class is called, please line up in a single file. Would the Peach Group please step forward?"

Shimako rose to her feet and walked over to stand in front of Sei.

Sei turned to her side, where Rei was holding an open box out towards her. Sei reached into the box and pulled out a silver medallion attached to a long chain. She then used both her hands to drape it around Shimako's neck and said, "May Maria-sama bless you and watch over you."

"Thank you," Shimako said. She gave a slight bow of her head and then returned to her seat.

"Would the Chrysanthemum Group please step forward?" Youko then announced.

Yoshino quickly stood up walked over to stand in front of Youko. Ranma was a bit confused at what was going on, but with Shimako's encouraging nod and Yoshino's eager beckoning, she also rose to her feet and moved to wait behind Yoshino.

Youko reached into the open box, now being held by Sachiko to her side, and pulled out another medallion. Much like with Sei and Shimako earlier, she used both of her hands to drape it over Yoshino's neck and said, "May Maria-sama bless you and watch over you."

"Thank you," Yoshino said. She also gave a slight bow of her head and then walked back to her seat.

Youko repeated the same action again, draping a silver medallion over Ranma's neck this time. It felt pleasantly solid as it settled onto her chest.

"May Maria-sama bless you and watch over you."

The entire room burst into emphatic applause.

As she made her way back to her seat, Ranma could feel the blood rushing to her face. She couldn't understand why, either. The entire ceremony was a pointless waste of time, and it was being held for "Ranko Sugita," anyway. Nevertheless, for some reason, she felt all squirmy inside, as if her chest had been filled with warm jelly.

"And now..." Sei said as Ranma was sitting down. "... it's time for the performances!"

The applause abruptly stopped.

Youko turned to Sei and asked, "What? Performances? Why? Ranko-chan already knows all of us."

Eriko had also turned to look at Sei.

"It's traditional for the Yamayurikai to perform for the student body at the welcoming ceremony," Sei said.

Youko frowned and said, "It's not a matter of tradition, it's a matter of preparation. This was meant to be a simple event. Nobody prepared anything to show off."

"How exciting," Eriko said, laughter bubbling at the edge of her voice. "I agree with Rosa Gigantea. Rosa Chinensis, as the master of ceremonies, you surely must agree that no welcoming ceremony is complete without performances, would you not?"

Youko sighed. She said, "We don't even have a piano in here, so we can't just repeat what we did last time."

Sachiko remained silent, but she nodded in agreement with what Youko said.

"Then we'll just need to improvise, won't we?" Sei asked with a grin on her face.

"Improvise," Youko said, directing a skeptical look at Sei. "I'm sure you've been planning this since yesterday."

Sei's grin only grew larger in response.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Eriko said.

Rei remained as silent as Sachiko had, but she looked far more pained at Eriko's declaration.

"Really? Are we really doing this?" Youko asked. Sei met her question with an amused grin and an emphatic nod. If anything, Eriko's nodding was even more emphatic than Sei's was. Youko sighed again and shook her head. "Very well. Let's move the table to make some space. As Sei has clearly been planning this in advance, she can go first and give the rest of us some time to think of something."

Sachiko and Rei both gave a quiet groan.

The girls collectively moved the large table to the side of the room. Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako then lined up the chairs in front of it to make a makeshift stage in the center of the room. Meanwhile, Sachiko, Youko, Eriko, and Rei were staring down at the floor in deep thought. Just as Ranma sat down, along with the other first-year students, Rei abruptly looked up and left the room.

Sei paid no attention to the departing girl. She confidently walked to where she had been sitting at the table and picked up the chef's knife and the raw daikon radish she had kept there. She walked to the center of the room and addressed the attentive Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Sei Sato, Rosa Gigantea of the Yamayurikai. Today, I will be showing you how to turn a daikon radish..." she held the vegetable out in demonstration, "... into a rose. Watch carefully."

Sei took the knife and nicked the top of the daikon radish. She then slowly turned it, peeling off a thin slice of vegetable as she went. Around and around it went, creating a longer and longer continuous strip. She then took the white ribbon and twirled it into a circle of frills until it formed what appeared to be a flower.

Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako all clapped at the outcome.

Sei then took a seat next to Ranma and joined the impromptu audience to see what her fellow members of the Yamayurikai had in store.

Youko went next. She walked to the center of the makeshift stage, introduced herself, and recited from memory some selected poems from the Manyoushuu. Ranma recognized a few of the lines, but overall the performance didn't have much of an impact upon her.

Rei re-entered the room as Youko was sitting down. She was now carrying a shinai, and the bamboo practice sword greatly interested Ranma. Rei walked straight to the center of the makeshift stage, introduced herself, and announced that she was going to be demonstrating some kendo for them today. She then put her words into action, using the shinai to show off various strikes and maneuvers. She performed them adequately, and as best Ranma could tell in such an artificial setting, Rei had the abilities of a capable amateur. It would require seeing her in actual combat against an opponent to get a more precise and accurate assessment of her skills.

Sachiko followed after Rei. After her introduction, she performed a dance from some ballet. If anything, her performance interested Ranma even more than Rei's exhibition had. Sachiko demonstrated the same flexibility and grace that Ranma had seen earlier from her in the secondary gym. Unlike that waltz, though, Sachiko was light on her toes as she frolicked around the area, bending her feet in ways Ranma had never seen before and fluttering her legs in the air with startling agility. While it was clear that her movements lacked any substantial momentum, and thus would not be directly applicable to combat, it still raised some intriguing possibilities.

Finally, Eriko stood up and took the center of the impromptu stage. As she was the last to perform, she had the full attention of the entire Yamayurikai. She said, "Gokigenyou. I'm Eriko Torii, Rosa Foetida of the Yamayurikai. I would like to share a song with you. It's the first song a girl learns in kindergarten here, and everybody in Lillian should know it. It's called, 'Maria-sama's Soul.'"

The girls around Ranma gave quiet gasps.

Eriko took a deep breath.

"~Maria-sama's soul, it is...~"

Eriko's voice was unsteady, and her voice cracked when she tried to reach the high notes. Nevertheless, she sang out with irrepressible determination.

Starting at the second verse, Youko added her voice to Eriko's. She was followed shortly thereafter by Sachiko, and then Rei. Soon, all the other members of the Yamayurikai had joined in, and the full choir of music surrounded Ranma.

The song sounded vaguely familiar to Ranma for some reason, but she had no idea why. It compared Mary's soul to a variety of things, such as a blue sky, a mountain lily, and a sapphire.

The other girls trailed off near the end, leaving Eriko to sing out the final note by herself. There was a moment of silence, and then the entire room burst into a round of applause and congratulations. Eriko gave a bow and then returned to her seat.

Youko rose to her feet again, clapping as she did so, and resumed her place in the center of the open area. The applause quickly quieted down as she turned to face the audience, clearly directing her attention specifically at Ranma. Youko had a beatific smile on her face as she said, "And that concludes our welcoming ceremony. We all hope that you will enjoy your years here in Lillian. May Maria-sama watch over you. Gokigenyou." She gave a bow.

The entire room broke out into one last round of applause, this one the loudest of all. Looking around, Ranma noticed the members of the Yamayurikai all seemed to be smiling. She felt her cheek, and she realized that that included her, too. The squirmy feeling within her hadn't disappeared, but it had been overshadowed by some kind of effervescence which lightly bubbled in her chest. It was all very strange.

While Eriko and Rei began clearing the chairs, Yoshino and Shimako took off their medallions and gave them to Sachiko. Not knowing what was going on, Ranma mimicked their actions, removing the medallion from around her neck and handing it out to Sachiko.

"No, Ranko. You should you keep that. That's for you," Sachiko said as she put the other two medallions back into the box. "These two are just some spare ones we were using for the ceremony. Yoshino-chan and Shimako already received theirs back in May, along with all the other first-year students."

"Okay," Ranma said. She replaced the silver medallion around her neck, and it settled against her chest beside her silver rosary.

The room was straightened out in short order. After the chairs had been cleared out, everybody helped move the large table back to the center of the room. They had to move it thrice, as Sachiko suggested it was off center on their first two attempts.

Once the table had been restored to its rightful place, it was quick work to place the chairs around it. Then, the only evidence remaining of their dinner party was the dirty dishes still distributed around the table. Even that evidence was quickly disposed of by Shimako's, Yoshino's, and Rei's efforts. Ranma drew the curtains shut and tidied up the rest of the room, which completed the daily cleanup.

The Three Roses then bid everybody a good evening and left into the darkness. Rei, Shimako, and Yoshino left shortly thereafter. Ranma remained behind, with Sachiko staying behind as well to help her with her training once again.

By any measure, it was a successful training session, too. Ranma was able to leave her copy of the script in her book bag, and she was almost able to complete the entire thing from memory. There were only six lines she missed, and she picked those up quickly with a small hint of Sachiko. Ranma's only real disappointment was that they had not been interrupted by an announcement of a second dinner.

At the end of their practice, Sachiko's smile and congratulations matched Ranma's own internal feelings of accomplishment. There would be more work to do, as a technique successfully completed once did not a master make, but Ranma felt like she had reached a major milestone in her progress.

Between the dance lesson, the dinner party, the welcoming celebration, and the script training, Ranma and Sachiko left the Rose Mansion late. It wasn't quite as late as the previous day had been, but it was definitely past evening by this point, even if it did feel much earlier than that. They talked about nothing in particular on the way to the front gate, and then they split up to go their respective ways.

The warm glow of accomplishment stayed with Ranma throughout the walk back to camp. Her skills were definitely catching up to the confident promises she had made to the others. The play was going to be in five days, and Ranma was sure she'd be ready for it. The only question was how ready she would be.

Once she reached the temple, Ranma checked around as she always did, and then jumped over the foliage into camp. She quickly doffed her uniform to change into a keikogi in preparation for a night of sparring with Genma.

Right after Ranma pulled off her slip, though, Genma asked quietly, "What's that?"

"What's what?" Ranma asked.

"This," Genma said. He reached over and pulled the silver medallion off of Ranma's neck. It sparkled in the darkness, reflecting the dim lights from around the city.

"I got it from Rosa Chinensis," Ranma said, automatically using the form of address most commonly used to refer to Youko around Lillian.

"Hmm?" Genma asked as he walked over to his backpack.

"Umm... from Youko-san," Ranma said.

"Hmm..." Genma grunted distractedly. He rummaged through his backpack, pulled something out of it, and then fiddled the medallion for a few seconds. He then quietly exclaimed, "This is good. It's got to be worth something. Keep at it." He tossed the medallion into his backpack.

Ranma frowned.

The squirming, bubbly warmness within her chest from before was replaced by a coagulated breathlessness. She didn't like it at all. However, she couldn't really understand what it was, let alone articulate the ambiguous feeling she had. It simply gnawed at her as she finished changing her clothes and subsequently poured some hot water on herself.

Once Ranma's daily training with Genma began, the hollow feeling within him disappeared, pushed away by the driving immediacy of the fight. The exhilarating thrill of adrenalin coursed through him as he once once again dedicated himself to his perpetual struggle against Genma.

That evening's duel was a great one. As was always the case, they fought through the streets and parks of nighttime Tokyo, sparing no effort in their protracted fight. It climaxed with Ranma executing a devious double-feint which completely tricked Genma and allowed Ranma to throw him to the ground. It was a brilliant victory.

They then returned back to their camp, and Ranma once again collapsed onto his cold bedroll. As the thrill of the fight ebbed away, the vague feeling of wrongness from earlier re-manifested in his chest. It was just as nebulous as before, though, and it continued to nibble at him as he fell asleep.

* * *

Omake:

"Where's Rosa Gigantea?" Rei asked.

"Did you need her for something?" Shimako asked. She directed a benign smile at Rei.

Yoshino, like Rei, had also thought that Shimako would have wanted her grande soeur to be involved in what was certain to be their upcoming conversation. For that matter, Yoshino was somewhat surprised to see that Eriko wasn't around either, for the exactly same reason with respect to Rei. In the case of Eriko, it was likely that Rei had been waiting to see the outcome of the just-finished party before deciding if she would need to consult with her grande soeur. As for Sei, though, it was much less clear why she was absent. However, Shimako's relationship with Sei had always been a complicated one.

By all appearances, Shimako was an impeccable petite soeur, performing all the duties and fulfilling all the expectations of one. Likewise, in her own fashion, Sei provided the guidance and assistance expected of a grande soeur. There was definitely an affection between the two of them, and they had the most mutual respect for each other amongst all the soeur pairs Yoshino knew, her own included. Despite that, there was an invisible barrier between them that they absolutely never crossed. The closest analogy Yoshino could think of was that Shimako and Sei were like a new samurai being shown the way by a veteran samurai whilst they traveled along Toukaidou Road for sankin-koutai.

Then again, Yoshino and Rei couldn't exactly be said to have the most conventional of relationships, either. Yoshino always considered Rei to be like a sister, which made sense seeing how they had grown up together for practically their entire lives. However, the nature of their sisterhood varied dramatically, depending on the context within which they were acting. At Lillian, Yoshino would typically be the one to prepare the tea, as was proper of a petite soeur. At home, Rei would typically be the one to prepare the tea, as was more natural considering both of their proclivities. It made the liminal times such as this, with Rei's ineffable transition between "Onee-sama" and "Rei-chan," particularly complex.

Those thoughts raised the question of what kind of soeur relationship there was between Ranko and Sachiko. Did they continue the pattern, completing the set of first-year members of the Yamayurikai having unorthodox soeur relationships, such as between Yoshino and Rei, and Shimako and Sei? Or did they break the pattern, having a more typical soeur relationship, such as between Rei and Eriko, and Sachiko and Youko? Only time would tell.

"No, I supposed I don't," Rei said, answering Shimako's question. "Shall we go?"

Yoshino took the lead, beginning the walk from the Rose Mansion to the circulation bus stop outside the front entrance of Lillian. As she was the one with the weak heart, it was natural for her to set the pace. Rei walked just behind her, such that she could better keep an eye on her.

While Yoshino loved Rei for that, it also drove her crazy. Yoshino would have very much preferred it if Rei would walk beside her, like Shimako did. It was made even worse because very occasionally, a fit would overtake Yoshino, and she actually did need the help. She hated it. She hated what it did to her. She absolutely hated what it did to Rei. And she absolutely, positively, definitely hated what it did to their relationship.

Between the dance practice, the dinner party, and the welcoming celebration, it was late. Most likely, they were the only people still present within Lillian's darkened campus. It provided the perfect opportunity to discuss the topic of Ranko. The only question was who was going to start the conversation.

"I saw what you meant, about the bruises. They looked pretty serious."

It was Rei.

Yoshino nodded, dimly visible in the darkness which surrounded them. She had caught the reaction of the others when Ranko had rolled up her sleeves in the kitchen, revealing the bruises on her arms for all to see. Their presence had been unmistakable. There had been a couple which were the blackish-red of fresh strikes, which Yoshino was positive had not been there on Monday, while others had had the greenish-yellow that partial healing brought about.

"She has more, on her torso and legs," Yoshino said.

Shimako nodded as well, slightly more visible as they approached a lamp along the path. She asked, "Is it possible that she's just a clumsy child?"

An image flashed in Yoshino's imagination of Ranko walking through a biscuit-shaped door with some tea on a tea service for Sachiko. The Ranko in her vision then tripped, spilling hot tea everywhere. Tears filled her eyes as she panicked, desperately apologized, and frantically tried to wipe up the mess, in the process accidentally knocking her head into a chair. It was a cute vision, but the incongruity between it and Ranko's confident movements was almost enough to make Yoshino laugh.

Rei beat Yoshino to responding, though. She asked. "Are you joking? We all saw how she danced. She said that that was her first time, too."

"Her first time? No way!" Yoshino exclaimed. There was no way anybody could learn dancing that quickly. She should know. Both she and Shimako had had to struggle though learning the much more tame steps of the ensemble's dance a few weeks earlier. Rei and Sachiko, who were very experienced with kendo and ballet respectively, had still struggled with learning the much more complicated steps of Cinderella's and the prince's dance. It was beyond belief for a complete novice to memorize an entire dance sequence that fast, let alone perform it so well so quickly.

"That's what she said. She was pretty bad for the first few minutes, too. Then she relaxed and you all saw the results," Rei said.

So either Ranko was lying, and badly at that, or she was some kind of preternatural super dancer. Both alternatives seemed strange to imagine.

"I did. Ranko-san does seem very agile on her feet. On the other hand, we also saw how she handled those knives in the kitchen," Shimako said.

"What do you mean? She was certainly reckless, but that's very different than being clumsy," Yoshino said. If anything, Ranko had been the exact opposite. Watching those blades flash in the light had been amazing. The spectacle was even more incredible in hindsight, when the feat wasn't being overshadowed by the absolute terror of the experience.

"It only takes a bit of absent-mindedness at the wrong time," Shimako said.

"That's true, but I still don't think that's what's happening. If she really were tripping or running into things that often, we would have noticed it by now," Yoshino said. She knew nobody had noticed anything of the kind. Of the three of them, she had spent the most time with Ranko, and she had never seen her act in any way other than adroit. No, there was one exception. "Although, now that I think about it, she does seem to get distracted during PE class."

"Really?" Shimako asked eagerly.

Yoshino could sympathize with Shimako's attitude. Child neglect, let alone abuse, was almost inconceivable. It went against all cultural norms, such as cherishing children and the understanding of the proper way parents should act. It was like trying to imagine the Emperor of Japan selling it out to an enemy during a war. Just considering the idea itself violated so many taboos, such as the sanctity of the family and insulting the honor of the Sugita clan. And even having considered it, it was impossible to imagine how the situation should be handled.

"No, it's not her being clumsy," Yoshino said, putting an end to that particular idea. She was as eager as Rei and Shimako to find an alternative explanation for Ranko; she just was sure that clumsiness was not a possible one. "Ranko-san never runs into anything or does anything too strange, even in PE class. If anything, she's a bit above average, but she doesn't really stand out that much."

"She did fall out of a window," Rei said.

"She jumped out of a window," Yoshino said. It was a very key difference. "And she landed easily, without hurting herself, right? You saw her when she landed, didn't you, Shimako-san? Do you really think she's a clumsy child?"

"She did seem to be very calm and in control of herself," Shimako said. They were in another stretch of darkness, but the look on Shimako's face had to match the disappointment in her voice.

"The way I see it, she needs to have almost supernatural luck or supernatural agility to pull that off, and the fact that she had even tried it suggests it's the latter," Yoshino said.

If it wasn't Ranko being clumsy, than what else could it be, besides the obvious and unthinkable idea?

"What else have we learned about Ranko-san?" Yoshino asked. She thought back through the dinner party and anniversary celebration that Sei had arranged. "We know she has some crazy knife skills."

"And her father never taught her the importance of knife safety," Rei said.

"But he did teach her how to cook really well," Shimako said.

"No, she said she learned that at a school, didn't she?" Yoshino said. That reminded her of Ranko's first day and the introduction Yoshino had given to her of the Yamayurikai. "I think she's attended a lot of different schools. Last week, she said that lots of other schools picked their student councils in different ways, like cooking competitions, gambling competitions, tennis competitions, and other things. Now that she's said that a past school of hers choosing their student council through cooking competitions, and her most recent school picked it through dressage competitions, I'm wondering if she's really attended all those schools she told me about. That would mean she's transfered at least five times."

"That many?" Shimako almost exclaimed.

"That's definitely suspicious," Rei said.

The main reason people transfered schools was because they moved, usually because their parents changed jobs or something, but that wouldn't explain such a large number of transfers. The second most common reason to transfer schools was to escape something, be it bullying, scandal, or discovery. What were the chances that Ranko had encountered a bully at five different schools?

"She also said that she found it hard to find food," Shimako said. That was one of the most suspicious statements of the evening. Stores were everywhere in Tokyo.

"We also found out that she has terrible table manners," Yoshino said.

"And she eats a lot," Rei said.

"That she does," Yoshino said with a slight nod of her head. She and Shimako had already discussed that last Saturday.

"No. I mean she eats a lot," Rei said, emphasizing her words. "I was talking to Sachiko. She told me that last night, they had dinner in the Rose Mansion. Ranko-chan ate the whole thing."

As Rei was in the same grade as Sachiko, it made it easier for the two of them to talk about things in a casual manner. Some things were easier to talk about with family and some things were easier to talk about with friends, and Rei and Sachiko were very close friends.

"Really? After all those sandwiches and pastries?" Yoshino asked. Ranko had eaten enough snacks for it to practically count as a meal by itself. Effectively, she had eaten almost two full dinners.

"She ate it fast, too. She was done before Sachiko had even finished half her dinner," Rei said.

"Like tonight," Yoshino said. They had all seen Ranko eating earlier in the evening. It was impossible to not have noticed it. Or rather, it was easy to not notice it. It felt like Yoshino had blinked, and Ranko's tamagoyaki had just disappeared. Another blink, and Ranko's omurice had vanished as well.

"So she eats fast, too," Shimako said.

"That's putting it mildly," Yoshino said. It was as fascinating and appalling as watching two trains crashing into each other.

"Did Sachiko-sama say anything about why Ranko-san is always staying behind?" Shimako asked.

"She said that Ranko-chan said she couldn't do much work at her house. She had 'complications,'" Rei said.

"That's very ambiguous," Yoshino said. Ambiguous and meaningless.

Rei's and Shimako's nods of agreement were visible under the lamp they were crossing under.

"What did Sachiko-sama say about Ranko-san's bruises?" Yoshino asked.

"She didn't say anything," Rei said.

"She didn't?" Yoshino asked. That seemed like a rather significant thing to ignore.

"I... kind of... didn't tell her about them," Rei said.

"You didn't!" Yoshino exclaimed.

"No," Rei said hesitantly. "I hadn't seen them for myself, and it's not exactly the easiest thing to talk about, is it? I just couldn't bring it up."

Yoshino had always been more direct than Rei, and once again the difference in personality irritated Yoshino. It would have been so much better if Rei had just pushed forward and seized the initiative.

She was going to berate Rei, but felt the clenching arrhythmia of her heart starting to act up again. She slowed down a bit and took some deep breaths to calm herself before she got into too much trouble. She also tried to ignore the concerned look she knew would be on Rei's face behind her due to her slowing down, as that would only irritate her more.

"I'm sure Sachiko-sama noticed today for herself," Shimako said. She slowed down a bit to match Yoshino's new pace.

That was some consolation, but it was also a distraction. In a sense, what Sachiko and the Red Rose Family would do in regard to Ranko was none of Yoshino's business. If Rei got Sachiko involved, or if Sei got Youko involved, that was their prerogative. Yoshino herself had no such venue or reason to engage the Red Rose Family, so their actions only mattered to her in the context of background and curiosity.

Yoshino tried to refocus the group on the more important issue, which was determining what was going on and what they should do in response. She was able to speed up again, and they were starting to approach the front entrance of Lillian. She asked, "Is there anything else we know?"

"Yes, now that I think about it. Remember how I said that Ranko-chan was dancing poorly at first. That's not quite right. It was more that she was always flinching away," Rei said.

"Flinching?" Yoshino asked.

"Yes, like this," Rei said. She stopped under the streetlight they were under, and jerked her torso back away from the other two in a quick, startled motion.

"That's unusual," Shimako said.

"It is," Rei said.

They were silent for a few more steps, departing from the lamp light into another segment of darkness.

When nobody contributed any more, Rei said, "So what do we know? Ranko-chan has bruises, new ones. She likes to do reckless things, like jumping out of windows and twirling knives. She's transferred between schools several times. She's really good at cooking, but never cooks her own lunch because she said she has no time and can't find anything to cook. She eats a lot, really fast, with no table manners. She has some situation of some kind in her home which she's avoiding. She dances incredibly well, but she was flinching at first. I think that's it?"

"I think that's it," Shimako said.

"Then the question is, what do they all have in common?" Yoshino asked.

All added up, there was definitely something strange going on with Ranko's life. There was something wrong, but the question was, what was it?

"I think the most likely explanation is the one we talked about last Saturday, that her father is acting... improperly. It's the best explanation I can think of," Rei said.

"Or the worst one," Shimako said.

"Yes," Rei said.

"I know we talked about that before, but I don't think that's it," Yoshino said. It felt intuitively wrong to her, and she tried to reason out why. "I guess it does a good job explaining the bruising, her staying away from home, the food, and maybe why she transferred schools, but what about her dancing. How does that explain her being a good dancer, and her lying about it?"

"Hmm..." Shimako said. "There is the old proverb: 'The nail which sticks up gets hammered down.' And she has transferred schools a lot. Maybe she's had an issue with bullying in the past, and she doesn't want to stand out."

"Then her new bruises are from bullying here?" Rei asked. "I doubt that. I've never even heard of a case of bullying in Lillian before. Have you?"

"No, I haven't," Shimako said.

"Me either," Yoshino said.

The closest thing to bullying Yoshino had encountered was her own social isolation from her classmates, and that was due to her ill health, the constant presence of Rei by her side, and, most recently, her joining the Yamayurikai. It was telling that despite only having been in the school for a week, Ranko was rapidly becoming the closest thing to a friend she had. However, at the very worst, her classmates had always been polite and respectful to her in all ways, friendly acquaintances rather than shunning adversaries. The idea of one of them striking her, let alone hard enough to leave an angry dark bruise, was inconceivable.

"Besides, if she was having a problem with a bully here, wouldn't she want to go home faster, not avoid home?" Rei asked.

"That would make sense," Shimako said.

Yoshino felt she was circling at the periphery, not quite seeing the true heart of the matter. There had to be some key detail she was missing which would explain everything.

They were approaching the stop for the circulation bus. As could be expected due to the late hour, the stop itself was empty, and when the bus arrived, the interior would likely be lightly populated at best. Still, it would be better to finish the conversation here. Talking about such sensitive subjects with other people around felt weird and inappropriate, even if they were anonymous strangers.

"I don't know," Shimako said. "I don't know what's going on, but I do know one thing: it can't be good for Ranko-san to be eating all those instant noodles for lunch. I think I'll try making her something better to eat. It's pretty easy to prepare a second meal along with a first one, and that could help her a bit."

That was insightful. Even if they didn't know the true facts of the situation, they could still focus on what they did know; they did know that Ranko had some kind of problem with food, even if they didn't know what it was.

"I think that's a good idea, but we should be careful. We don't want to offend her," Yoshino said. Considering their similar tastes, Yoshino suspected that Ranko took things like pride and honor very seriously. That made trying to give help particularly tricky. Even adults who had run out of money had chosen to starve rather than admit to others that they needed assistance.

"How about if I just invite her to share our lunches together? Friends do that all the time. If I happen to have made a bit too much, then if anything, she'd be doing me a favor so that we don't waste anything," Shimako said.

"That's a really good idea. I can make some extra, too," Yoshino said. They were becoming friends, after all, and she was fairly sure that that's what friends did. "I can ask her tomorrow, and we'll see how it goes."

"How about we meet at that cherry tree out behind the primary gym?" Shimako asked.

"That sounds like a good plan," Yoshino said. That would at least address one issue. Hopefully.

* * *

Last Updated: October 1, 2020


	10. New Fit

Chapter 10: New Fit

The congealed hollowness within Ranma's chest from the night before was still there, but the distance of sleep had muted much of it. It further dwindled during Ranma's morning preparations until it was little more than a half-recalled memory on her trip to Lillian.

As compared to the past two days, the girls she met on her walk to school had settled down somewhat. Rather than practically every single girl noticing her and reacting, maybe only four-fifths did. The number of greetings had commensurately reduced as well, although it was still at the point where, while on campus, every few seconds, somebody would offer her a "Gokigenyou."

The sign near the front entrance had been updated to read, "04." It foreshadowed the subtle change of atmosphere throughout the school. Little glimpses of preparation for the upcoming festival could now be seen here and there, such as a girl pausing to measure something on her walk through the hallway or a girl hiding something away in a cabinet. Even if the announcement sign near the entrance hadn't existed, a visitor to Lillian would definitely have gotten the sense that something was afoot.

Festival preparation activity wasn't the only thing which had escalated, either. When Ranma approached the vending machines for her daily acquisition of lunch, she saw two girls there. One of the girls she recognized as being Chiyo, a classmate in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group. The other girl had short and wavy blonde hair, similar to Chiyo, but Ranma didn't recognize her at all.

The two girls each purchased a package of instant noodles, and they shared a look and a giggle with each other. That turned into a chagrined "Gokigenyou" to Ranma when they noticed her. They then walked away, leaving Ranma to make her own purchases.

Ranma's entry into her classroom, her brief training, Tanezaki's arrival, and the morning classes all continued the theme of being roughly similar to the day before, give or take a certain amount of tolerance. It was only with the beginning of lunch that the first major change occurred.

Several days had passed since the last time Ranma had been tormented by the newspaper club. Even her respectful declination to answer their survey hadn't resulted in any negative consequences that she could detect, which demonstrated that Sachiko's judgment in the matter had been correct. As a result, Ranma had lowered her guard; she no longer felt the need to jump to her feet and dash out the door the moment lunch began in an attempt to escape their interrogation.

Therefore, it was an easy matter for Yoshino to approach her at the start of lunch and say, "I was wondering if you would be interested in eating together today."

The unexpected invitation took Ranma by surprise. She sat back and looked up at Yoshino, who was carrying her lunch box wrapped in a colorful carrying cloth. The size of the container looked quite intriguing.

However, the festival was only four days away, and Ranma had yet to actually complete a full run through of the entire script from memory alone. She said, "Uhh... well, I was planning on practicing for the play."

"Then that works out very well. I was going to meet Shimako-san, too. We could make it a triple practice session," Yoshino said.

That sounded even better. Sachiko had regularly demonstrated the value of working together with a partner. It would be far more effective to practice with Yoshino and Shimako, rather than just mentally cuing the various step-sisters' lines to herself.

"In that case, sure," Ranma said. She stood up, picking up her packages of instant noodles as she did so.

Three other girls were taking tentative bites of their own blocks of dry instant noodles as Ranma and Yoshino left the room.

Ranma and Yoshino walked side by side through the hallways and down the stairs. They eventually made their way outside, where the light smell of ginko nuts surrounded them in the still-warm autumn air.

"Are you doing anything special three weeks from now, on Sunday?" Yoshino asked as they walked.

"I'm not sure," Ranma said. She rarely knew what to expect even one week away, let alone three. It would just be whatever Genma decided. "Why do you ask?"

The path they were walking on looked familiar to Ranma. In fact, most of the paths around Lillian were starting to look familiar to her. This one appeared to be the same path that she had taken with Shimako the previous week, when they had eaten lunch together.

"The kendo team is competing in an upcoming inter-school tournament. I thought you might be interested," Yoshino said.

Ranma blinked at Yoshino's comment. "We have a kendo team?"

"Of course we have a kendo team. We also have an archery team, a judo team, a karate team, and a bunch of others," Yoshino said.

"I see. Do you do any of them?" Ranma asked.

"Me? No. I want to, but my health isn't the best. Onee-sama is the star of the kendo team, though," Yoshino said proudly. "So, are you interested in coming? You can help me cheer on Onee-sama. It will also be a good chance for me to prove that a good offense will beat a good defense."

"Only if the defender doesn't know what they're doing," Ranma said absentmindedly as she thought about Yoshino's offer.

Ranma wasn't sure if she would still be present in three weeks. Genma frequently had them moving from place to place without any advance notice. On the other hand, she wasn't sure that she wouldn't be present, either. She had gone weeks, and occasionally months, in a single location before. If she was still here in three weeks, she could think of far worse ways to spend the time.

"Sure," Ranma said. It was always fun to watch martial arts, even if it was just a bunch of girls waving sticks at each other. At worst, she could get a good laugh at their lack of skill, and there was always the chance that she could learn something new. It was a very slight chance, but it was still technically possible.

They looped around the primary gym, through the scattering of ginko trees behind it, and to the single cherry tree in the area. Shimako had spread out a sheet on the ground and was sitting on it. In the center of the sheet were several containers of rice, potatoes, sausage, salad, eggs, and other foods. It was almost a miniature banquet.

Shimako looked up as they approached and said, "Gokigenyou. I'm glad that you were able to join."

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said.

"Gokigenyou," Yoshino said as well. "Ranko-san was thinking of doing some Cinderella practice during lunch, and I thought we could make it a threesome."

Shimako gently clasped her hands together in front of her and said, "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Yoshino turned back to Ranma and said, "Actually, to confess, I had an ulterior motive in inviting you here."

That statement immediately put Ranma on guard. It hadn't been the first time that she had been lured to a secluded place by somebody trying to ambush her. She tried to prepare for the worst, watching for any approaching attackers.

Yoshino continued, either not noticing or disregarding Ranma's tightened guard, "You see, I actually packed too much food for lunch today. I was hoping you might help me take some so it wouldn't go to waste."

Food. Extra food. Extra food? It took a second for the thought to parse through Ranma's battle-prepared brain.

"Actually, I prepared a bit too much, too," Shimako said. She gestured to the several containers carefully laid out on the sheet. "I know. Why don't we all share? We can make this a potluck lunch, like last night."

Extra food. Extra free food. Free food? The idea finally managed to percolate through Ranma's head and settle to a conclusion. It brought a smile to her face. The idea of willingly giving up her instant noodles galled her. However, even a quick glance down at the spread on the sheet showed there was no comparison at all. Shimako was offering far more than Ranma herself had, and that wasn't even counting what Yoshino had potentially brought in her enticing large lunch box.

Ranma relaxed her guard and said, "Sure. I have some instant noodles." She took two of the packages cradled in her arms and placed them in the center of the sheet. She then sat down on the side of it.

"That's good. I've been wondering what those are like. They seem to be quite the fashion in class now," Yoshino said. She sat on the sheet as well and began the process of unpacking her substantially large lunch.

Ranma enthusiastically helped herself to the variety of foods in front of her. They might not have been hot, but they were still delicious. The tangy salad was every bit as delightful as Ranma's eyes had led her to believe. The cutlet, sausage, and various other pickled, fried, steamed, and baked goods likewise did not disappoint her in any way.

Shimako and Yoshino both ate as well, their measured pace far slower than Ranma's own. After two bites of dry instant noodles, Shimako said, "This has quite the interesting texture. Thank you for sharing."

"This is actually better than I had expected," Yoshino said in response to her own test bites.

The two of them only ate four bites of instant noodles each before putting them down and moving on to the other foods. Ranma lamented the waste. Only a little, though. It was hard to be too upset, considering how preoccupied she was by her own more favorable side of the trading of meals. A mouth full of succulent cutlet was a great mollifier.

Once they had finished eating, they rehearsed the opening scene of the play, with Yoshino and Shimako splitting the lines of the missing Sister B between them. Ranma's presentation was a slight regression as compared to the previous evening with Sachiko; she had to occasionally pause in silence as she dragged the correct line out from her memory. However, she was able to complete the entire scene without a single reminder, and she considered that a success. It was obviously imperfect, but she didn't let that bother her. Improving her skill was the entire point of practicing with Yoshino and Shimako, after all.

They concluded their brief practice session with plenty of time to pack away the lunch boxes, pick up the sheet, and return back to their respective classrooms.

The afternoon classes continued much like the morning classes had, which was to say nothing special happened in them. Discussion of the effect the Genpai War had upon the trade of the era was interesting, in so far as the Genpai War itself interested Ranma. The volleyball game in gym class was less so, being as dull and lackluster as it always was.

After classes had ended, Ranma joined a few other girls in cleaning up the music room. The task was rapidly completed, which brought to a conclusion what Ranma had come to recognize as a typical day of school.

From there, Ranma made her way from the music room to the clothing room for the upcoming costume fitting. As she walked through the hallways, though, something tickled at her memory. Something felt familiar, and she slowed down as she tried to figure out what it was.

"~... is the evergreen..." The words spontaneously came to Ranma's mind. "~... is the mountain lily...~"

She realized what it was. In the distance, Ranma could faintly hear some kind of brassy, multi-tonal musical instrument playing a song. It was the same song that Eriko and the others had sung the evening before, "Maria-sama's Soul." That must have been why it had sounded so familiar, both then and now.

The mystery solved, Ranma resumed walking to the clothing room. As she did so, another thought struck her. The "mountain lily" was one of the things that Mary's soul was compared to in that song; the Yamayurikai literally meant the "mountain lily council." Was there a relationship between them? There probably was, considering all the references to Mary found throughout the school. Besides the welcoming ceremony the evening before, there had also been Sachiko's invoking of her name when confronting Minako on Saturday. Ranma thought she recalled the headmistress saying something about Mary on that very first day, too, when Genma had met with her.

This Mary person seemed to have some kind of link with Lillian. Ranma wondered who she was.

Ranma was still pondering that connection when she reached the room in which they had their sewing lessons. She pulled the door open and stepped in.

And she was immediately confronted with the image of a half-naked Sachiko and Shimako.

Ranma startled in surprise.

Girls changing clothes was nothing new to her. She saw it at the start of every PE class, let alone whenever she herself changed. However, she hadn't really been expecting it here, although in hindsight, of course people would be changing for a costume fitting. She just hadn't really thought about it, and it had caught her off-guard.

Ranma recomposed herself and continued into the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Gokigenyou," Eriko said from across the room. She was dressed in a red Victorian dress. It had puffy sleeves and a deep square neckline which showed off a substantial amount of her decolletage. She also wore a pair of black gloves which stopped at her wrist, ending with a floral pattern of lace.

Near her was Shimako. She was standing on a small platform about 10-centimeters tall. She was in the process of pulling on an ornate Victorian dress of her own. Hers was yellow, with large puffy sleeves and a high collar which dropped into a V neckline. She also wore gloves, but these were long, yellow ones which rose past her elbows.

Sachiko was also standing on a small platform similar to Shimako's, but she was only wearing a slip. Beside her were a few girls. One girl had a clipboard in her hands, and another girl had a cloth tape measure wrapped around Sachiko's waist.

At Ranma's entrance, a tall and pudgy girl with long dark hair departed from Sachiko's company and approached her. She was followed by two other girls.

"Gokigenyou. Come here, please. This way," the pudgy girl said. She took Ranma by the elbow and pulled her onto another platform, beside Sachiko's. It was the fourth in the set, with the four platforms forming a line which spanned across the room.

The other other half of the room had several large worktables, upon which were distributed sewing machines, heavy shears, pincushions, and bolts of fabric. There was a girl sitting on a chair at one of the worktables. She was marking some cloth with a piece of chalk. She was in the minority, though. Most of the girls were bustling around on their feet in the open half of the room.

"Don't just stand there. Time's wasting," the pudgy girl said to Ranma. She waved her hands upwards in a lifting gesture.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"Take off your uniform," Eriko said. She had walked over to stand nearby, close enough to be involved but far enough away such that she would not interfere with the activities of the girls who had surrounded Ranma. "Fuuko-san needs to measure you. She's the president of the inventions club, by the way."

"Sorry. I've just heard so much about you that I forgot we've never met before. It's a pleasure to meet you," Fuuko said with a slight bow of her head.

"Likewise," Ranma said in return, giving a slight bow as well.

"Now," Fuuko said, once again gesturing upwards with both of her hands, "let's go."

Ranma did as instructed, untying her neckerchief and pulling off her dress. One of the girls took the articles of clothing from her and laid them out on one of the nearby tables.

It felt weird to be standing around wearing only a slip, and even more so as she noticed that Eriko and the girls around her were all staring at her.

After a momentary pause, Fuuko pulled a tape measure off from around her neck and said, "Hold still."

The girl started measuring various parts of Ranma's body: her neck, her arms, her wrist, her fingers, her bust, her waist, her hips, her legs, her height, and more dimensions on her feet than Ranma had imagined were possible. Fuuko would read off a number, and a girl behind her would write it down on a clipboard. It felt very similar to what Ranma had gone through on Sunday, albeit far more intimate, both due to the removal of her uniform and due to the fact that Fuuko was pulling the cloth tape measure snugly against Ranma's body.

Once Fuuko had finished, a new girl approached Ranma's side and handed over a large white mass of cloth. She said, "Here. Put this on."

Ranma took the bundle, turned it around, flipped it over, and generally tried to figure out what was what on the presumed dress.

It was strangely hard to find an edge on the thing, especially considering how large the hem turned out to be. She was eventually able to locate the bottom and orient it. Once she had found the appropriate opening, Ranma pulled it on like it was the biggest shirt she had ever seen before.

If the Lillian sailor dress was a lake of a cloth to navigate, this dress was an ocean of fabric. Ranma got lost on the way to the surface, and she had to swim around for several seconds in order to find the hole for her head, which was ironic, considering how open the neckline proved to be in the end.

The dress may possibly have fit Sachiko, but it definitely did not fit the substantially shorter Ranma. The long skirt spilled across the platform and threatened to fall off the edge. There was an excessive amount of cloth around Ranma's torso, too, with lavish folds of white fabric flopping around her entire body. More than anything, it felt like she was wearing a tent.

"Hold still. I'm going to pin it," Fuuko said. She then started taking in the cloth. It tightened measure by measure, until Ranma could feel the dress skimming just off her torso, ever so slightly inhibiting her movements. The skirt, though, remained loose and continued to rustle and jostle against her legs.

"Hmm..." Eriko said, holding her hand up to her chin and leaning in towards Ranma for a closer look. "Let's lower the neckline. We should give more service."

Eriko launched into an energetic design session. She kept pushing for provocative, almost risque, alterations, while Fuuko subtly hinted that more restraint might be in order. The other girls nearby occasionally offered an opinion or suggestion as well.

Eriko's enthusiasm was as entertaining as it was infectious, and Ranma soon found herself engaged as well. She couldn't help but feel like they were somehow having separate conversations, though. She didn't understand why so much attention was being put on the color of the gloves to use, as that would have only minimal impact on their combat effectiveness, as best she knew. In turn, her suggestion to reinforce the knuckles of the gloves didn't exactly get the reception she was expecting, only being met with some confused nods.

Part way through the discussion, the door to the hallway opened, and Yoshino walked in. Two of the girls hovering around Ranma peeled off to greet her and escorted her to the first platform in the line, at the other end of the room. There, they repeated with Yoshino the process Ranma had undergone, removing her uniform and measuring various dimensions of her body.

Eriko was in the middle of talking about the trim on the neckline when Ranma had her attention literally yanked away by something far more pressing and urgent. A girl had grabbed at her pigtail. Ranma whipped around to confront the interloper, slapping away the grasping hand. She asked, "What're you doing?"

"Oww..." the girl said. She rubbed at her hand. "What was that for? I was just going to undo your pigtail."

"We need to see what you look like with your hair done up," Eriko said.

"No. Nobody touches the pigtail," Ranma said. Her braided hair had been bound by a dragon's whisker, and it was the only thing preventing her male form from running out of hair and growing bald. It was one of the few mishaps she had had which couldn't directly be tracked back to Genma, luckily. If Genma had known about the dragon whisker, there was no doubt that he would have forcibly taken it from her the first time he won a fight, if not sooner, as it was also ironically a cure for baldness.

"Why not? It won't hurt a bit," Fuuko said.

"We'll put it back when we're done," the girl whose hand Ranma slapped earlier said.

"You should try it. That pigtail is so dull, and you have such nice hair," Eriko said. She stepped forward and stroked the top of Ranma's head. The proximity triggered Ranma's sense of danger, and she jerked sideways, out from under Eriko's hands. Her feet landed on the edge of the platform, and she slipped on the hem of her dress a bit before she was able to regain her balance.

"No. The pigtail stays," Ranma said, clutching protectively at her braid with both her hands. She tried to think how she could explain it without giving away the secret. Numerous people had been attacked in order to steal a dragon whisker, and she had no interest in becoming a dumpling head like her father was. "It's a seal. Bad stuff will happen if it becomes undone."

"That's no fun," a girl, now standing to Ranma's other side, said. Ranma twisted to account for the new threat.

"Come on," another girl said, now approaching Ranma's flank.

"You'll like it. You'll see," Eriko said. She grabbed at Ranma's pigtail.

"Hey! Stop that!" Sachiko's shout drew the attention of the entire room. "Leave Ranko alone!" Sachiko lifted the long skirts of her red and black dress and charged forward.

"Huh?" Eriko asked. "Stop what? It's just some hair. We'll put it back when we're done. It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is a big deal," Sachiko said emphatically. "We all have things we don't like. How would you feel if somebody threw you onto dentist's chair?" Eriko's face to took on a queasy appearance. "Or if somebody were to put a spider on your desk?" Fuuko looked a bit disturbed at that. "If Ranko wants to keep her pigtail, then she can keep her pigtail. We'll just need to figure something else out."

Sachiko stepped over to Ranma's side and reached for her braid. Unlike with the others, Ranma relaxed and let her take it.

"Like what if we do this..." Sachiko said, pulling one end of the pigtail in a spiral while holding the root of it with her other hand, "... and this... and... done. How does that look?"

Eriko, Fuuko, and the others gave a murmur of appreciation.

"Wait, let me get something to hold it," one of the girls said. She walked over to one of the nearby drawers and returned with a pair of knitting needles. She took one of the long needles and twisted it through Ranma's hair, and then everybody took a step back to observe.

"As expected from Sachiko-sama," Fuuko said. "That looks very sophisticated."

"That's quite the transformation. I like it, although Ranko-chan will need to learn how to do that herself in only a few seconds," Eriko said.

Ranma turned to look in a nearby mirror to see what they were seeing for herself. What she saw was a young princess dressed for a night at the ball. The color of her vivid red hair pinned up in a braided spiral counterpointed with the white of her long dress. She had an exquisite silhouette, with a low cut neckline and sumptuous drapes of fabric on her sleeves and skirt. Everybody was staring at her, giving her their admiration and envy.

"We'll need to fix the hem. Here, try putting these on," Fuuko said. She handed over a pair of high-heeled shoes. "They'll be too big for you, but that shouldn't matter for this."

Ranma took the shoes and lifted her foot to switch them with the indoor shoes she was wearing. Unfortunately, her other foot was still standing on the hem of her skirt. It caused her leg to catch against the edge of her dress and yank her forward. The sudden tug from an unexpected angle along with Ranma's awkward posture from balancing on a single leg were too much for her to compensate for, and she pitched forward off of the platform.

A lifetime of martial arts training kicked in, and she rolled with the fall, ending up on the floor in a mess of white cloth and taffeta.

"Are you alright?" Sachiko asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Ranma said. Her only injury had been to her pride.

There were some snickers from around the room. Most of the girls tried, with varying degrees of success, to hide their laughter. Yoshino and Eriko, on the other hand, were very overtly giggling. Even Sachiko's mouth had a distinctive quirk to it as she stared down at Ranma.

"Stupid dress," Ranma said, shaking the excessively long skirt from where she was still sprawled out on the ground. She made up her mind: this dress was the worst. It was outright dangerous.

Ranma made sure that her feet, and her hands for good measure, were on solid ground before she slowly pushed herself up to a standing position. There was no way she was going to be caught by the same trick a second time. She moved carefully, feeling for any unexpected resistance as she did so. The motion felt ungainly, but it was effective.

"We're definitely going to need to raise the hem," Sachiko said. Her voice was still colored by the flavor of mirth. "Maybe we can make it calf length? I don't think that would be too out of place."

"That's probably for the best. It'll also help show off her shoes a bit more, too," Eriko said. "Besides, if Cinderella stands out a bit, that's not really a bad thing, is it?"

Fuuko nodded. She asked Ranma, "Can you step back up?" She gestured to the small platform from before.

"Carefully," Sachiko said.

Ranma mimicked Sachiko from earlier and hiked up the front of her excessively long skirt, such that she could see her feet and the platform in front of her, and she easily stepped up. She then had another attempt at pulling off her indoor shoes and putting on the high-heeled shoes, making absolutely sure she was on solid ground this time. Sachiko and Fuuko both offered out their hands to Ranma as she did so, but she ignored them both as she made the change.

The first shoe was easy to switch. Balancing on top of it to change the second shoe was much trickier than it seemed like it should be, though, but Ranma still managed to stay on her feet as she did so. As Fuuko had warned, both of the shoes were substantially too large for her, and she flexed her feet outward in an attempt to fill the extra space.

One of the girls took Ranma's indoor shoes from her while Fuuko circled around her. She folded up the hem of the skirt, pinning it much higher than before.

"All set. Why don't you try walking around a bit? Carefully," Fuuko said.

The warning was superfluous. The oversized shoes ensured Ranma would have to be cautious, lest they go flying off of her feet. She took a couple of tentative steps, moving with a slow, artificial gait.

Eriko watched Ranma as she moved, then lowered herself into a squat and watched some more. She said, "I think that looks pretty good."

Ranma turned around and stepped back up onto the platform. The task was made easier by the shortened hem, but she still had to manage her skirt to prevent the chance of any mishaps. Once she was in place, Fuuko marked some lines on the dress with a piece of blue chalk.

It was at that point that Rei entered the room. She exchanged some brief words with Eriko about something regarding the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group, and then she began her own costume change. She stepped up onto the platform Sachiko had abandoned, and two other girls began the measuring process with her. Later, Sachiko took over Shimako's empty platform, and the different members of the Yamayurikai rotated places based on whatever was needed at the time. Ranma was spared all of that, though, being the only member of the Yamayurikai with a dedicated space.

After an hour of being measured, chalked, pinned, and generally fussed over, it was finished. Ranma, along with the other members of the Yamayurikai, removed her dress and returned to her more typical Lillian sailor uniform while the girls of the handicrafts club put things away into the cabinets and drawers around the room. During the clean-up, Eriko took a moment to claim the two knitting needles from earlier and put them into her book bag.

The room was then quickly emptied, with various declarations of "I'm leaving first," "Thanks for your hard work," and "Gokigenyou" filling the air.

Eriko naturally took the lead, bringing the other members of the Yamayurikai to the Rose Mansion and into the side room near the entrance that contained all the boxes of props. These they dug through, retrieving broaches, bracelets, batons, and several other objects. These were distributed as appropriate.

Neither Youko nor Sei were present, which caused the group to focus their abbreviated rehearsal on the scenes which did not include the king and the queen. That meant they only did the first half of the play, up to the conclusion of the wizard's transformation of Cinderella.

This session was almost exclusively focused on the girls' physical motions. They would circle each other, dramatically gesturing with and pointing at the props in their hands. The new physical component of the rehearsal colored everything in the play, and Ranma found that the delivery of her lines was influenced by what she was doing and how she stood in relationship to the others around her.

Including the repetitions and refinements, they practiced for about an hour. After that, Yoshino, Shimako, Eriko, and Rei put away their props, including the newly acquired knitting needles, and left for the evening.

Once again, Ranma and Sachiko were the only two left remaining in the Rose Mansion. Irrespective of the departure of the others, they continued on with their practice. At Sachiko's recommendation, they focused on the ballroom scene.

If anything, Ranma thought Sachiko did a better job of playing the prince's role than Rei did. Her delivery flowed naturally and smoothly, although that may have been aided by the fact that Sachiko, unlike Rei, wasn't reading from a script she carried in her hand.

A loud knock at the door interrupted the second time they were acting out Cinderella's introduction to the prince. Ranma immediately turned and walked to the entrance of the Rose Mansion. She didn't even bother finishing her current line. She had a strong suspicion as to what the interruption was, and she was eager to be proven correct.

Sachiko's chauffeur and Yamamura startled slightly at Ranma's abrupt opening of the door, which in Ranma's excitement had almost been shoved into Yamamura face. They both quickly regained themselves, though, and said, "Good evening."

The chauffeur had two covered trays in her hands, and Yamamura was carrying a large bag. The sight brought a smile to Ranma's face. She had been correct in her speculations. Dinner had arrived.

"Come in," Ranma said, beckoning them to enter. She eagerly brought them up the creaky stairs and through the biscuit-shaped door into the dining room.

Therein, Yamamura spread out a tablecloth and set some place settings. Once Ranma and Sachiko had taken a seat, she placed the trays the chauffeur was carrying in front of them and revealed the bounty which had been brought.

The sight redoubled Ranma's smile. She didn't recognize any of the foods in front of her, but that didn't matter; there was a lot of it. The tray was almost overflowing with the number of dishes upon it.

There a bowl with what looked like an off-white cross between rice and porridge. There was another plate with a rice-porridge hybrid as well, although that mixture had a yellow color and was overshadowed by the thick shank of meat still on the bone stuck in the center of it. There was a smaller plate with what looked like thin slices of cured meat on it. Beside it was another small plate of slightly thicker cuts of cooked meat with small green leaves on top of them. In one corner of the tray was a bowl with a salad lightly covered with some oil and a dark liquid. The opposite corner had a plate with a plush triangle of some kind of quilt-like bread. There was a bowl with long strings of pasta mixed together with clams still in their shell. There was also some some grilled steak on another plate. Finally, there were two layered foods, one with layers of meat and pasta in a red sauce, and the other with layers of powdery white and brown something.

The fact that Ranma didn't recognize anything did nothing to slow her down. She grabbed a spoon and began with the off-white rice-porridge hybrid. It turned out to be a rich, creamy, salty, rice dish which was full of flavor. Ranma enthusiastically took another bite.

"It seems like I learn something new about my petite soeur every day," Sachiko said. She had begun by cutting off a piece of bread with her fork and knife.

"Hmm?" Ranma glanced over at Sachiko in askance.

The closer look revealed something a bit strange. Sachiko's tray was different than Ranma's was. It was much less packed, containing maybe two thirds of the number of dishes that Ranma had, and each of those dishes was noticeably smaller than her own. Ranma definitely thought she had received the better of the two.

"I had no idea you were so clumsy," Sachiko said. She had a bit of a smile on her face.

Ranma had never been accused of being clumsy before, and it rankled her. She took great pride in her martial arts, and her physicality in general. She asked, "What'd you mean I'm clumsy?"

"Back in the clothing room," Sachiko said.

"That's not fair. That's the first time time I ever wore anything that long before. How was I supposed to know it would trip me?"

"You've never worn any long skirts or dresses before?" Sachiko asked. She had a touch of a frown on her face now.

"Of course not. I never wore any dresses at all before coming here. I'm..." Ranma said before her mind caught up with her mouth. She was supposed to be Ranko Sugita. Saying she was really a guy had to be a bad idea. "... I'm... I just never have before. Okay?" She took a deliberate bite of the pasta with clams. It was exactly what she had expected, only more so, and she eagerly ate.

"Oh, I see," Sachiko said. The frown on her face became a bit more pronounced. "Then you don't trip into things that often?"

"Of course not!" Ranma repeated. She then aggressively bit off a piece of the bread. It was soft, springy, and quite flavorful. She quickly took another bite of it, equally aggressively, but for a different reason.

"Oh, I see," Sachiko also repeated. There was a few seconds of silence. "Is..." Sachiko fell quiet for a moment. "Did you know? One of the expectations of a grande soeuer is to provide assistance to her petite soeur."

"Yeah," Ranma said. She remembered hearing that from Yoshino back when she had been describing the soeur system. Far more interesting to her were the slices of what appeared to be cured meat. They were salty, fatty, and full of umami. She intertwined pieces of them with the final bites of her bread.

"So, if you have anything you'd like to talk about, or any problems with anything, I'd be happy to help," Sachiko said.

"Sure," Ranma said before taking a bite of the shank of meat on the bone. She had a large tray of delicious dinner in front of her. What kind of problems could she have?

Despite the inclusion of so much extra food, Ranma still finished her dinner before Sachiko did. It was closer than the night before had been, though.

Yamamura then cleared away the trays, and she and the chauffeur left the Rose Mansion.

Ranma and Sachiko practiced for another hour after that. They continued to focus on the stage directions and prop usage, but they moved on to rehearse the scene where Cinderella was reunited with the prince. For some reason, Sachiko was particularly concerned with making sure that Ranma was ready for Kashiwagi's imminent arrival.

After that, they did some light cleaning up of the Rose Mansion, turned off the lights, and made their way out of Lillian.

All said and done, it had been an enjoyable day. Lunch with Yoshino and Shimako had been great. The afternoon spent fussing with the others on the costumes had been surprisingly entertaining, and the communal spirit had made the whole activity, even the mishaps, fun. Practice with Sachiko and the others had been good, too, for a very similar reason. That wasn't even counting the dinner Sachiko had provided, which had been even better than the one Ranma had had the night before due to the quantity as well as the novel nature of the dishes.

The good mood within Ranma quickly faded away, though, as she once again walked back to the temple and to the camp therein. The vague half-remembered feelings from the morning quietly returned to her. She could feel the pressure within her, like she was slowly trudging through a bog. It wasn't wrong as such, but it did feel a bit off, as if she was shouting in a graveyard or something.

Much like the night before, those vague feelings were swept away by the exhilaration of combat as Genma pushed Ranma to the utmost, but they then crept back as Ranma collapsed onto a cold bedroll and waited for sleep to come.

* * *

Last Updated: October 1, 2020


	11. New Insight

Chapter 11: New Insight

As she had done every day for the past week and a half, Ranma left Genma's company and made her way to Lillian. Along her journey, though, with the occasional greeting of "Gokigenyou" being directed her way, it slowly dawned on her that something felt a bit peculiar. That sensation only grew more pronounced the closer she got to the Lillian. Her face felt tight, somehow, and she poked her finger against her cheek to check it.

She was smiling.

And she had no idea why.

The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized that that wasn't actually that unusual. Over the past several days, she had found herself smiling quite frequently.

It wasn't only her tightened face, or even the bubbly feeling in her chest, that felt a bit peculiar, either. There were countless little things everywhere that seemed a bit different to her. The sunlight was a bit brighter. The flowers were a bit more vivid. The breeze was a bit more refreshing. Somehow, everything around her seemed a bit more present and real.

As Ranma passed under the tall gates at the front entrance of Lillian, the question occurred to her: was this what they called "happiness?"

Once on the Lillian campus, the nods, waves, and verbal greetings sent Ranma's way increased dramatically. The number of girls who went out of their way to acknowledge her in some fashion or another had further declined as compared to the day before, but they still formed the substantially majority of people she saw.

Ranma was recognizing more and more of them as time went by, too. By this point she knew the faces of almost the entire First-year Chrysanthemum Group, and she knew the names of most of them as well. More than that, though, she had started to recognize numerous girls outside of her class, too; she had a brief moment of worry when Mami greeted her from across the path, but the newspaper girl then turned and left her alone.

The announcement sign near the front entrance of the main building had continued its inexorable countdown. Its warning that the festival was only three days away corresponded with another escalation of activity throughout the school.

While the students of Lillian had been busy preparing over the past several weeks, it had always been something of a hidden affair. Small groups would meet in classrooms after hours. Fastidious attention would be paid to hide all of the evidence of their work, such that their efforts would not intrude upon daily school life.

That had all changed. An ignorant visitor would now have no problem spotting the signs of preparation everywhere. Gone were the days of furtive actions done in passing along the way. It was still slightly uncommon to see a girl carrying posters, pots, and paints through the hallways, but it had now become an overt sight.

Ranma passed by three girls assembling some kind of colorful metal and plastic stand in the hallway just outside of their classroom. A little further on, a girl with a large bundle of rolled-up paper in her arms paused briefly to offer Ranma a "Gokigenyou" before she continued onward. As Ranma neared the vending machines, she saw a girl drawing a cartoon caricature of another girl who was modeling for her.

The transformation of Lillian Private Girls' School into a festival ground was on the cusp of beginning in earnest.

At the vending machines themselves, Ranma saw a familiar girl with medium-length blonde hair which had been braided into a pigtail. She couldn't remember having seen anybody with a single pigtail, though, and she struggled to remember why the girl seemed familiar.

The girl picked up the package of instant noodles she had bought, turned, and caught sight of Ranma. "Ehck..." The girl startled back fractionally. The slightest hint of what could possibly be a blush touched her cheeks. She then stammered, "G..gokigenyou, Ranko-san."

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said. Upon seeing her full face, Ranma realized why she had seemed so familiar. "Didn't we meet before? Last week? In the primary gym?"

The girl's eyes widened, and the hint on her cheeks resolved itself into a definite blush. She asked, "You remember me?"

"Yeah. You're in the handicrafts club, right? You were making..." Ranma said, trying to recall what she had seen at the edge of the stage a week ago. She failed to remember. "... something."

"That's correct. I was making a carriage," the girl said with a vigorous nod of her head. "It's going to be the best carriage for you."

"Right," Ranma said. There had been that table and that chair tied together with some string. "I don't think I ever got your name."

"Yukiyou Murakawa. First-year Plum Group, number 22. It's a pleasure to meet you." She gave a bow as she spoke.

"Well, nice to meet you, too," Ranma said, returning the bow.

Yukiyou bowed again and took her leave.

Ranma walked up to the now vacant vending machine, inserted her coins, and was once again the proud owner of three packages of instant noodles. She then made her way to class.

In the front of the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom, Ranma saw that Rinna and Reiko had slid two desks next to each other and had placed a large poster on them. They were in the process of decorating the sign to the cafe their class would be running with small drawings of pocket watches, top hats, and playing cards.

"Gokigenyou," they said to Ranma as she walked in.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said back.

There were various other preparations occurring around the room as well. Sayaka had a stack of paper onto which "Drink Me" had been printed multiple times, and she was cutting those width-wise into long strips. Tomori had a similar stack of papers, onto which "Eat Ne" had been printed, and that was the subject of some energetic discussion between her, Ami, and Sora. At Ami's warning, though, all of the festival preparations were put on hold. All the desks were lined up again, all of the artifacts from around the room were sequestered away against walls and into drawers, and all the girls returned to their seats.

It was to an almost, but not quite, ordinary room that Tanezaki entered.

"Stand. Bow."

For the most part, the morning classes themselves continued as they always did. The main compromise to the looming deadline was the sewing lesson, which Ami had arranged to have canceled favor of festival preparations. For that period, the class split into two groups. The smaller group went to the back of the room to practice food and drink preparation. The larger group, which included both Ranma and Yoshino, moved to the front of the room and spent the period practicing greetings, order taking, and serving.

Lunch was different as well, insofar as it was similar to the day before. While Ranma was reaching for her instant noodles, Yoshino approached her.

"Would you be interested in eating together again today?" Yoshino asked. "You enjoyed my lunch so much yesterday that I thought I'd make some extra to share with you. I think Shimako-san is waiting for us as well."

"Yeah," Ranma said instantly. If lunch the previous day was anything to go by, it would certainly be a trade up. Instant noodles were cheap and filling, but the food that Yoshino and Shimako had brought was more plentiful and tasted far better. Ranma was already giddy in anticipation.

They walked over to the same place they had had lunch the day before, and they arrived just in time to greet Shimako, who was only a few seconds behind them. The three of them spread out the sheet Shimako had brought and placed the three different lunches on top of it. It was a worthy trade on Ranma's end, her giving out two packages of instant noodles and receiving far more in return for them, and she eagerly began eating.

Part-way through their meal, behind Shimako's giggling at a joke Yoshino had said, Ranma heard a click. She looked over in the direction of the sound, and she saw a glint of light coming from some nearby bushes. A closer look resolved it to be a camera. Behind it, the outline of a girl could be seen in the dappled shadows.

Once it had become clear that she had been spotted, Tsutako stood up straight and gave a hesitant wave.

"I'm taking pictures for the upcoming exhibit the photography club is making for the festival," Tsutako said from the bushes. "I'm sorry to bother you. Gokigenyou."

Tsutako bowed and then quickly walked away.

Yoshino exchanged a shrug with Ranma, who exchanged the same shrug with Shimako.

"Don't worry," Shimako said in response. "Tsutako-san always gets permission before keeping a photograph."

Yoshino had said a while ago that the student body loved to admire the Yamayurikai. What that actually meant was finally becoming clear to Ranma.

In the end, neither Yoshino nor Shimako ended up actually eating any of the instant noodles Ranma had brought. At their insistence, such as to not be wasteful, Ranma ended up eating them as well. While she appreciated the extra food, for some reason, she also felt a bit bad about it.

After they had finished lunch, the three of them once again did a bit of light practice. It went quite smoothly, and it proved that Ranma had almost managed to catch up to Yoshino and Shimako. In fact, considering how much larger the role of Cinderella was as compared to Sister A's and Sister C's, she may even have surpassed them. She easily recalled the complicated lines of Cinderella, and her tongue flowed around the flouncy and ornate sentences. She had a few slight hesitations here and there, but none of the flaws were critical, and she still had a few more days to improve even further and complete her mastery.

The lunch break concluded with Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako cleaning up the lunch boxes and the sheet. They then returned back to class.

It was strange to think that just two weeks earlier, Ranma had been following an obviously lost Genma through the forests of China, her eyes keenly focused on finding something, anything, to eat. In comparison, the stately formality of Lillian was idyllic. There was no doubt at all in her mind that the food and the people here were undeniably better.

Rei arrived in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom shortly after classes ended, receiving a reception was as large as Sachiko's had been. She retrieved Yoshino for some special task, and the two hurried away. Therefore, Ranma was alone as she walked to the Rose Mansion, entered it, climbed the creaky stairs, and went through the biscuit-shaped door into the conference room. Inside, Sachiko, Shimako, Youko, and Sei were all seated around the large table.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said.

"Gokigenyou," they said in return.

Ranma automatically looked across the room for the snacks of the day. To her disappointment, she didn't see anything. Not only that. She also noticed Eriko was missing as well, which meant that the entire Yellow Rose Family was absent.

She went to the nearby tea service and picked up a cup, being very careful to keep her distance from the steaming electric kettle. She then walked down to the kitchen, filled her cup with water, and walked back upstairs. She re-entered the conference room and took a seat next to Sachiko.

After a few minutes and some inconsequential small talk, Sachiko asked, "They're late today, aren't they?" It was an open question to the room as a whole, rather than directed to a specific person.

"It can't be helped. Eriko was telling me that they had something special planned," Youko said. She then took a sip out of her teacup.

"She told me that, too. What do you think it is?" Sei asked. She leaned her arm on the table, rested her head on her hand, and looked towards Youko. "I'm guessing it's something food related, seeing how she said she would handle it today."

Ranma's disappointment bounced to optimism. Far from nothing to eat, the promise of something special was tantalizing, and her imagination wandered as she tried to think what it could be.

"We're here." Eriko's voice drifted up from the entrance hallway. This was followed by several heavy footsteps on the stairs. A few seconds later, Eriko appeared in the doorway. She said, "Sorry, we're late."

Eriko walked in first, and a thick savory scent filled the room at her entrance. She carried a large and obviously heavy pot in her hands. The pot had a piece of paper taped to its side with a large "2" written on it.

Yoshino entered next. She was also carrying a large pot in her hands. Hers was unlabeled

Rei was the last girl in the convoy. Like Yoshino and Eriko, she also carried a pot. This one had a piece of paper taped to its side with a large "1" written on it.

Sei sat up straight and turned to look at Eriko and the others. She asked, "Is that the big surprise?"

Youko sniffed the air and said, "It smells like... curry?"

Eriko heaved her pot up and placed it on the large table with a sigh of relief. She then said, "That's because it is curry! Tada!" She lifted the lid off of the pot with a flourish. A rich aroma flooded the room, filling it with the smell of cumin, turmeric, tomato, carrot, and everything else blended together.

Ranma could feel her mouth salivating, and she stood up to get a closer look. The pot was in fact filled with a thick reddish sauce. Bits of beige and orange peeked out on the surface of the liquid.

Meanwhile, Rei lifted her own pot and placed it beside Eriko's. She then took Yoshino's pot and placed it on the table as well. The two girls then left the room.

"If that's curry, then what's that?" Youko asked, gesturing to the pot Rei had been carrying.

"Also curry! Tada!" Eriko used her free hand to pull off the lid of the other signed-pot with an equally large flourish. It was likewise filled with a thick broth, this one an off-white.

"And that? More curry?" Sei asked, gesturing to the third pot.

"No. It's rice," Eriko said. She looked down at the two lids she had in her hands, placed them on the table, and then lifted the third lid with yet another flourish. "Tada!"

Youko stood up and looked into the three pots. She said, "That's a lot of curry."

"I got it from the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group. They're opening a curry restaurant for the festival," Eriko said. She placed the lid to the pot of rice on the table as well.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with this?" Youko asked

"That's easy. The class couldn't decide which recipe they wanted to make, so they ended up choosing to make both," Eriko said.

"So they just gave you a bunch of curry?" Sei asked. She sounded surprised and confused.

"Not me. Us. It's for their advertisements. Think of it," Eriko said. She turned and spread her hands out in the air, as if she were flattening a poster against an imaginary wall in front of her. "The preferred curry of Rosa Gigantea. Rosa Chinensis approved." Eriko turned back. "Their sales will double."

"I guess," Youko said. She also sounded skeptical. "But isn't this too much? How are we going to finish it all?"

"I'm sure it'll be okay," Eriko said, waving her hand dismissively. "Besides, if we do have extra, then Kashiwagi-san is coming to visit today, too. He's a boy, and you know how they eat. I'm sure he can help us finish any leftovers."

Across the room, Yoshino and Rei re-appeared in the doorway. They were carrying a stack of plates and utensils. These they placed onto the table in several piles lined up with the three pots already there.

"He may be a boy, but there's still a limit to everything," Youko said. Her gaze flickered back and forth between the two large pots of curry.

"He can take care of himself," Sachiko said. She had a frown on her face.

At that moment, Ranma's stomach grew tired of waiting. It gave a loud growl. All the girls turned to look at her in shocked amazement.

Eriko then gave a full-throated laugh. In between chortles, she said, "She's right. Enough waiting. The curry's getting cold. Let's eat."

Ranma didn't need to be prompted twice. She quickly grabbed a plate from the stack beside the pots, and she spooned a healthy portion of rice onto it. There was only so much available, and she was going to make sure she got her fair share. She then doused the rice with an equally generous portion of curry, half from the red pot and and half from the off-white one. It was a careful balancing act to fit as much food as possible onto her plate yet not so much that any was wasted by falling off of the edge.

She took the almost-overflowing plate to her seat and sat down while Sei helped herself next.

There was nothing amazing about the curry except the amount, but that was the most important thing. It filled her belly with a rich warmness not to be found from eating cold dinners and instant noodles, and she eagerly ate.

While they ate, Rei wrote down the feedback that everybody was providing. Sei commented that the colors seemed muted, which Youko agreed with and added that including something green could be helpful. Sachiko mentioned she didn't really like the coconut in the off-white curry. Shimako said she liked the puffiness of the rice, while Eriko said she would have preferred drier rice. For her part, though, Ranma mainly focused on eating.

After she finished her first plate, Ranma went back for seconds. About a third of the rice and curries still remained in the three pots. It was far more than she had expected, but she wasn't about to question her good fortune. She helped herself to another generous portion and resumed her seat.

"What a healthy appetite," Rei said. She had her spoon on her plate and was looking at Ranma.

Youko and Sei nodded in agreement with Rei's statement. All three of them had about a third of their initial, moderate helpings remaining.

Ranma finished her second plate in short order, and stood up to get thirds. Most of the girls had remained seated, their empty plates sitting in front of them. Only Sachiko had gotten seconds, and she had only just barely started on it.

Upon realizing that, Ranma hesitated, holding the rice paddle in her hand.

"No, no, go ahead. Have more," Sachiko said, gesturing for Ranma to continue. "Feel free to eat it all, if you like. We don't have to leave any for Suguru-san." She then slowly took a bite of her own dish.

That sounded like a challenge, or at least Ranma was willing to interpret it as one, and as a practitioner of Anything Goes Martial Arts, she practically had a moral imperative to tackle all challenges. It was her duty to eat all of that warm, thick, spicy, rich, savory curry, and Ranma eagerly spooned a third helping onto her plate.

Across the table, Eriko sent Rei a wink. Yoshino and Shimako both shared a small nod as well.

When Ranma sat down with her fourth plate, she heard Rei quietly say to Yoshino, "This is incredible."

"Isn't it?" Yoshino asked back to Rei, equally faint.

"She just keeps going and going," Youko said to Eriko, almost in a whisper. Eriko nodded, triumphant smile clear on her face.

"Where do you think it all goes?" Sei softly asked Shimako. Shimako shook her head back in response.

The fifth plate is when it began. A hint of a titter escaped from Rei, not quite blocked by the hand covering the front of her mouth. From there, it spread to Sei and Eriko, who were much more overt in their snickering. Thereafter, it was only a matter of time until the whole table was laughing. Even Sachiko had to put her spoon down from where she had almost finished her second plate, lest her giggling cause her to spill anything.

Ranma didn't understand the joke, but she joined in with the laughter anyway. She was warm, she had a plate full of curry in front of her, and she was surrounded by a bunch of nice people. She definitely liked it here.

Several minutes later, Ranma finally leaned back with a sigh. The only bits of rice and curry which remained were the small trails left behind from where the paddle and ladles had scrapped along the bottom of the pots.

Eriko stood up and gave the official verdict. "Ranko-chan: 1 - Curry: 0."

"I guess that answers the question about leftovers," Youko said with a slow shake of her head. She then turned to Eriko. "Please do give our compliments to the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group. That was quite delicious."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to hear that," Eriko said. She nodded to Rei, who nodded back and wrote it down.

"Ranko-chan, Shimako, Yoshino-chan, can you three please clean up? Kashiwagi-san will be here soon, and we need to prepare for his arrival," Youko said.

The question immediately put Ranma on edge, souring her post-prandial complacency. Dish cleaning was an incredible risk. It was practically asking to be splashed with hot water, which was why she had been intentionally avoiding it throughout the past week.

Then again, Youko had asked all three of the first-year students to help. Maybe if Ranma was sneaky enough, she could somehow escape notice.

"I'm sure it will go fast. Ranko-chan has to know her way around the pots by now," Eriko said, which earned a bit of a laugh from around the room.

And that put an end to the idea of somehow sneaking away. Having been called out specifically, it would be impossible to avoid attention. Apparently Ranma's luck had just run out.

"Fine," Ranma said, resigned. She collected the plates, cups, and cutlery near her and put them into one of the pots. She moved much slower than typical, hoping that something would happen which would offer her a reprieve.

"Sachiko, can you please go and check if Kashiwagi-san has arrived at the front entrance?" Youko asked.

"Onee-sama," Sachiko said, her complaint clear in her exaggerated address, "Why do I have to go? Can't somebody else get him?"

"Kashiwagi-san called yesterday and said that he needed to talk to you specifically about something. It would be best to get that out of the way so we can focus on practice for the rest of the afternoon. Our time here is very short," Youko said.

"Fine. I'll go get him," Sachiko said, elongating her words.

"Sachiko," Youko said sharply, catching the attention everybody in the room. The sharpness of her voice softened, but it remained firm and emphatic. "Hanadera's and Lillian have been partners for decades, and that tradition will continue. You don't need to like Kashiwagi-san, but we will show him the honor befitting his position."

There was no doubt in Ranma's mind as to why Youko was the leader of the Yamayurikai, the grandmaster of the students who had won the school-wide social competition. Her voice carried a compelling confidence that Ranma had never heard from Genma throughout all of his years of shouting, whining, insulting, and cajoling.

"Of course. I will act as is expected of me," Sachiko said. It proved that she was quite an adept master in her own right. It was amazing how much spite could be fit into such a seemingly respectful phrase.

"I am sure you will," Youko said. Her voice returned to normal as she addressed the rest of the room. "In the meantime, we should go downstairs and prepare for Kashiwagi-san's arrival."

Ranma finished collecting the dishes near her and carried the pot out of the room. She followed behind the others to the purgatory that was the kitchen. As she walked, she frantically tried to think what she should do. Even a relatively benign task like drying the dishes would put her in contact with hot water, and that wasn't even considering the happenstance splashes that would surround the sink. It seemed like avoiding a disaster was an impossible challenge.

The epiphany came to her when she was half-way down the stairs. She knew exactly how she could get out of the situation. If she couldn't avoid the water, then the trick would be to make sure the water wasn't hot. If the only water being used was cold, then there'd be no problem.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ranma sped past a startled Yoshino and Shimako and pushed into the kitchen first. She charged straight ahead to claim the sink. There she faced her first dilemma: two handles stood by the faucet, both unmarked, almost daring her to choose incorrectly.

Ranma picked the one on the right, turned it on, and hoped she was correct.

The stream of water started flowing.

Cold.

Thankfully.

She kept her finger in the stream as it poured into the pot in front of her, poised to shut it off at the first hint of a temperature change.

"You aren't going to use an apron?" Yoshino asked. Both she and Shimako had put on an apron, and Yoshino held a third one in her hands.

"No. No. I'm fine," Ranma said. It would only take a few seconds to put an apron on, but a few seconds was all that was needed for water to turn from cold to tepid, and from tepid to hot. She couldn't take the risk, no matter how slight it might be.

"Okay," Yoshino said hesitantly. She put the apron back.

Ranma's pot filled up without incident, and Ranma shut the water off, grateful for the brief reprieve. She then rolled up her sleeves and plunged her hands into the pot. It wasn't the first time Ranma had cleaned up in cold water, and it was much better than trying to use a mountain stream to wash up, let alone trying to clean her full body in icy meltwater. She pulled out a plate and started scrubbing it clean.

Yoshino took a position next to Ranma at the sink, her sleeves also rolled up, and she reached into the pot.

Ranma prepared herself to answer the question of why the water was cold, her excuse being a mixture of being in a hurry and not wasting any water. The question never came, though. Yoshino slightly flinched when plunging her arm into the cold water, but she remained quiet. She simply pulled out a spoon and started scrubbing it.

It was odd, but Ranma had no problem with that. The fewer questions there were, the better.

After a few plates and spoons had been throughly scrubbed, Yoshino turned the faucet on again. Ranma noted with relief, and curiosity, that Yoshino had also twisted the right handle to turn on the water. It was weird that Yoshino was using cold water, but Ranma wasn't about to ask for details. Drawing attention to the water temperature couldn't be a good idea. Even so, the question did prickle at her.

Thereafter, a small assembly line quickly formed. Ranma would scrub the dishes, Yoshino would rinse the soap off of them, and Shimako would dry them and put them away.

As they worked, Shimako looked over at Ranma and Yoshino and asked, "Do you know anything about Kashiwagi-san?"

"You don't know him either?" Ranma asked. The way the others had casually spoken of Kashiwagi, she had assumed everybody else in the Yamayurikai already knew him.

"No. I just transfered into Lillian at the start of the year," Shimako said. "The only things I know about him is that he's the student council president of Hanadera's Academy for Boys and that The Three Roses went and helped him with their school festival about a month ago."

If Kashiwagi was the president of the Hanadera student council, then that meant he had to be an expert in something, and it was always good to know somebody's expertises. Ranma asked, "What's Hanadera known for?"

"Nothing too special, I think. They're dedicated to Buddha, but I don't think they take it as seriously as we do Maria-sama," Shimako said.

"I see," Ranma said. That didn't provide very much information on Kashiwagi, but at least it did confirm Ranma's suspicions of the link between Lillian and Mary. Apparently the school was dedicated to her. Who she was, Ranma still had no idea, but clearly she was as important as Ranma had suspected.

"Yoshino-san, do you know anything about him?" Shimako asked as she placed a spoon into an open drawer.

"I've never met him before, so I only know what everybody else around the school knows. Supposedly he's quite tall and handsome," Yoshino said. She handed a plate to Shimako to dry and put away.

"Do you know if he does any martial arts?" Ranma asked. She handed over the last plate in the first pot to Yoshino and then started scrubbing the pot itself.

"I doubt he does kendo, because I'm guessing at some point Onee-sama would have heard it if he did. Besides that, I have no idea. It wouldn't surprise me if he did, though. Apparently he's really smart and talented. I heard he got one of the early acceptances into Hanadera University," Yoshino said.

"That's not that impressive, is it?" Shimako asked.

"Apparently it is. Hanadera has fewer automatic admissions than Lillian does," Yoshino said.

"Strange," Shimako said. "I had always assumed the two schools were similar to each other. I wonder what else is different there."

Yoshino received the pot from Ranma and then started rinsing it clean. She slightly winced again when her hands fell under the cold stream of water. She said, "For one, I'll bet their student council has hot water."

Ranma almost dropped the spoon she was scrubbing. She asked, "Wait. We don't have hot water here?"

Yoshino directed a curious look at Ranma. She said, "No, we don't. There's no gas." She slightly lowered her voice, as if telling a secret. "Onee-sama says the pipes in here even freeze during winter."

All of Ranma's worries and plans over the past week and a half had been for nothing. She would have felt chagrin if she hadn't been busy feeling relieved instead. She relaxed a bit as she resumed her scrubbing. Apparently so long as she avoided the electric tea kettle, she would be safe within the Rose Mansion.

"They do? You must be joking," Shimako said. "Can you imagine what Minako-sama would print if she knew that?"

"I think she does know it. Didn't the Lillian Kawaraban already do an article on the Rose Mansion?" Yoshino asked.

"Did they?" Shimako asked. She dried out the first pot, but rather than putting it away, she left it on the counter near the door.

"I thought they did," Yoshino said. "Now that you mention it, though, I'm not sure."

The reminder of the newspaper reminded Ranma of all of the trials and tribulations she had undergone with Minako and Mami. She asked, "What is the newspaper club doing for the festival, anyway?"

"They're publishing a special edition of the Lillian Kawaraban with a guide for the entire event," Shimako said. "They're also running a stand where everybody can vote for things, such as who is the Mr. Lillian and who is the school idol."

"That's an easy one. Sachiko-sama is going to win the school idol vote for sure," Yoshino said.

"Really?" Ranma asked.

"Definitely," Shimako said. "Even the third-year students admire her."

"I see," Ranma said. She could understand it. She had only known Sachiko for a few days, but she had already grown to like her.

"Who do you think is going to win Mr. Lillian?" Shimako asked.

"That's harder. Maybe Hibiku-sama?" Yoshino asked.

"Maybe. What about Anaya-sama?" Shimako asked.

"Maybe," Yoshino said. She turned to Ranma. "Hibiku-sama is third-year student on the tennis team, and Anaya-sama is a second-year student on the karate team." She turned back to Shimako. "If Anaya-sama does win, who do you think will sulk more, the karate team or the judo team?"

"Hmm..." Shimako tilted her head in thought. She then nodded and decisively said, "Both." She and Yoshino shared a giggle in response.

There were a few seconds of silence as all three of them continued their respective jobs. Ranma had reached the bottom of the second pot when Yoshino asked, "What are you both interested in doing in the festival?"

"I'd like to attend the seminar the scripture reading club is putting on," Shimako said.

"I think I might visit the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group's restaurant," Ranma said. This statement earned a laugh from Yoshino and Shimako.

"How about you?" Ranma asked. She had completed emptying out the contents of the second pot and had started scrubbing the pot itself clean.

"Onee-sama and the kendo team are doing a demonstration. I'm going to go watch that," Yoshino said. "You should come too. It'll be fun."

"Where's that going to be?" Ranma asked. That also sounded potentially interesting to see.

In the distance, Ranma heard a faint scream. She flung the pot in her hands down into the sink and started running. Screams equaled trouble, and trouble equaled something she should be involved with.

"It's... What? Where are you going?" Yoshino called out after her.

"I heard a scream!" Ranma shouted behind her as she ran out of the kitchen, past the living room, and out the front door of the Rose Mansion. Her soapy hands dripped water on the ground as she went.

Once outside, Ranma was in a much better place to hear the second scream. It was nearby, to the right. Not knowing the exact location of the source, Ranma made the practical decision to go directly at the target. She leaped over a small hedge, straight in the direction from where she had heard the cry. She landed, ran for a bit, jumped over another hedge, and saw a boy she didn't recognize.

The boy stood about a head taller than Sachiko did, which put him at approximately half a meter taller than Ranma herself was. He had grabbed Sachiko's wrist with one hand, pulling her close despite her obvious struggles to escape. His other hand was raised high, ready to strike.

"I said, 'Let go of me!'" Sachiko shouted as she futilely tried to pull away from him.

That was all the prompting Ranma needed. There was no way she was going to let anybody hurt Sachiko.

Ranma's initial instinct was to leap at the boy in a flying kick, using momentum to compensate for his considerably larger size. However, Sachiko was in very close proximity to the boy, and with no walls or other objects nearby, she would have limited ability to redirect an aerial attack once she had committed to it. If something unexpected happened while Ranma was flying through the air, it was possible that she would not be able to compensate for it.

If she couldn't use the full weight of her body, she would need to use the element of surprise instead. She doubled her efforts, sprinting forward.

Once she thought the timing was right, she shouted, "Get away from Onee-sama!"

The boy turned towards her, which made his center of mass an easy target. Ranma's fist hit his solar plexus with a satisfying thump.

The boy flew backwards, landed on the ground, rolled twice, and ended up settling on his back two meters away.

"Are you okay?" Ranma asked. Despite addressing Sachiko, Ranma did not turn away from the boy. Too many years of fighting against too many powerful opponents had drilled that mistake into her mind. She took a ready stance between the boy and Sachiko, using her left hand as if it were a fence to hold Sachiko back and shield her.

"Y.. yes..." Sachiko stammered.

The boy pushed himself over and up to his hands and knees. He gasped, coughed, gasped again, and then shakily climbed to his feet.

"You stay away from Onee-sama!" Ranma shouted. She kept a close watch of the boy's every move, ready to counter anything he might try to do.

"You..." he said. He then coughed again. In between his gasps, he said, "You... Is this what they're... teaching you girls here? I'm going to... have you expelled. No... I'm going to have you arrested!"

"Are you so sure?" Youko asked.

Ranma chanced a quick look behind her, just the briefest of glances, before she snapped her eyes forward to watch the boy again. Behind her, Youko and Rei had arrived. Shimako, Eriko, and Sei were just behind them and were running to catch up. Further behind was Yoshino, who, like Shimako, was still wearing an apron as she quickly jogged forward. All of the approaching girls had scowls on their faces.

Youko continued, her words firm despite her shortness of breath, "From what I saw, it looked like you were attacking Sachiko. So please, by all means, call security. The police, too. I'm sure it would be most helpful to get them involved."

The boy looked at Youko, Sachiko, and then back at Ranma. He asked, "That's how it is, is it?" He coughed again, and then spat on the ground in front of him. "Fine then. You win for now, Sa-chan."

He gave one last glare at Ranma and Youko. He then turned and walked away towards the front entrance of Lillian with the speed of somebody hurrying while trying to appear as if he were not in a hurry.

It was only when he had disappeared from view that the palpable tension in the air started to release. The tunnel vision around Ranma faded, and she was able to better take stock of the situation. Most of the Yamayurikai had formed in a loose, semi-circular line nearby. The exceptions were Sachiko, Youko, and Ranma herself. Sachiko hadn't moved from where Ranma had saved her earlier, and Youko had taken Sachiko into her arms in a light hug.

"Are you okay?" Youko asked. She was slowly stroking the top of Sachiko's head.

"I'm fine," Sachiko said. Despite the strength of her voice, she was slightly shaking.

"What happened?" Eriko asked.

"Who was that guy, anyway?" Ranma asked.

"That was Suguru Kashiwagi-san," Sachiko said. She sighed. "My cousin."

Eriko startled at that statement. She asked, "Kashiwagi-san's your cousin? Really?"

"Yes, but that's not all," Sachiko said. She sighed again, and stared downward in silence for a second. She continued, "He's also my fiance."

The girls around the area were all stunned at the announcement. Jaws openly gaped as they stared at Sachiko.

"Your fiance? You're engaged?" Ranma exclaimed, breaking the silence. She was shocked. She couldn't imagine how anybody in high school could be betrothed. Ranma had never thought about it before. Marriage had always been an abstract adult-related concept, intellectually known about, but years away from being begun to be considered to be thought about. Over her lifetime, Ranma had barely even known any girls, let alone had a girlfriend. To be suddenly confronted with not only the idea of marriage but also the fact that somebody only a year older than her was in the process of getting married left her bewildered. She had no idea how to process it.

"It's not like that. It's an arranged marriage. My grandfather and my parents are the ones who arranged it," Sachiko said quietly. She was no longer shaking, although Youko kept holding her.

Ranma felt bad for Sachiko. No matter how contrived Genma's plots were, no matter how self-centered he was, no matter how controlling he was, he would never do something that drastic. No, maybe he would. Thankfully, he hadn't, though. Ranma didn't know how she would act if she had been placed in Sachiko's position; it would probably be in a way far more drastic than Sachiko was.

"An arranged marriage? I didn't think anybody did those anymore," Sei said.

Youko visibly clutched Sachiko tighter for a moment. Shock fought with sympathy in her voice as she asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me you were engaged to Kashiwagi-san?"

"It's a personal thing. You know how I'm the only child of the Ogasawara group, and a daughter at that?" Sachiko asked. Several girls nodded. "My grandfather still wants me inherit the company, though, so my parents arranged for me to marry him. He would take on the Ogasawara family name and carry on the line as an 'adopted son.' That way I could still inherit the company."

"But I thought he was..." Rei said, hesitating, " ... you know... into boys."

"He is," Sachiko said. She had recovered enough to look everybody else in the face and speak normally once again, and Youko let her go and stepped back. "I used to have a crush on him. I only found out the truth during my high school entrance celebration. He pulled me aside and told me that he was only interested in men. He said I should take a lover outside of the marriage and have his child, and that because he would still be related by blood, he would be able to care for that child as if it were his own. It would all be very convenient."

Everybody gasped at that statement.

"What a cad!" Yoshino shook her fist as she spoke.

"He's nothing like his reputation," Eriko said, shaking her head.

"But why did he attack you?" Rei asked.

"He found out about the casting change of Cinderella and asked me about it. I brought up wanting to cancel the engagement, and things went poorly," Sachiko said.

Rei combed her hand through her hair as she shook her head. She quietly said, "What a disaster." Beside her, Eriko and Sei nodded in agreement.

Youko shook her head and sighed. She took another step backwards, so she could better address the entire group, and said, "We were supposed to practice this afternoon, but after this, I can't see any good coming from it. I think we can all use the break to calm our nerves. Rei-chan, Shimako, Yoshino-chan, can you three clean up the Rose Mansion? Feel free to head home after that. The rest of us had best go report this to the headmistress."

"Report? Report what?" Ranma asked. It seemed very odd to her that the headmistress would have any opinion on Sachiko's engagement.

Everybody stared at Ranma in bafflement. Youko was the one to speak, though. She said, "The fight, of course."

That confused Ranma even more. She couldn't imagine why the headmistress would care about the fight at all. There had been nothing special about it, except possibly how short it had been. It barely even counted as a fight, in her opinion. And even if it had been a tremendous epic struggle, she saw no reason why the school administration would care about it. It had nothing to do with social or verbal skills; it would be like telling a gambling school that she had won a match of Martial Arts Crochet.

Before Ranma could ask for further clarification, though, Sachiko asked, "Is that really necessary?"

"Of course it is. He attacked you," Youko said. "We can't let him back into Lillian."

Sachiko visibly stiffened. She took a deep breath and then firmly said, "No, he didn't. Not really."

Youko turned to Rei and Ranma in askance, and Ranma passed back a confused shrug. She had no idea what Sachiko was talking about, either. It had very clearly appeared to be an attack to her, too.

"What? What do you mean?" Youko asked. "I saw it for myself."

"He only grabbed me," Sachiko said. "It's not like I was really hurt, and I don't want to cause any trouble."

Youko shook her head. She said, "I'm afraid we can't do that. Even if you don't want to make an issue of this, Kashiwagi-san still could. We need to get the headmistress involved, if only for Ranko-chan's sake."

It was yet another thing Ranma didn't understand in the conversation. The only trouble Kashiwagi could cause would be to challenge her to a duel, or maybe to ambush her. Either way, she would just take care of it. It still didn't seem like something the headmistress would care about.

Regardless, though, she followed behind Youko and the others as they made their way to the main office.

Despite the fact that classes had ended about an hour ago, the main school building was still a hive of activity. Most of the commotion could be heard coming from the classrooms, often through closed doors but sometimes through open ones. There were a couple of girls in the hallways measuring things or taking advantage of the floor space to work on some particularly large projects. Invariably those girls would see The Three Roses and react to the traveling group, although unlike with Ranma walking by herself, more often than not the spectators would freeze in response to the assembly. A couple of girls extended a hesitant "Gokigenyou" to them, which were met by a return greeting from Youko as she resolutely led the group to the main office.

The receptionist was not actually in the main office when they walked in to it. Nevertheless, Youko announced their entry, and the headmistress's head could be seen peeking out from the door to her room. The headmistress then emerged more fully into the central room to address Youko and the others.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

"This is a late visit. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the headmistress asked.

"I'm afraid I must report that there's been an incident," Youko said, using a more formal and respectful vernacular than usual. She proceeded to provide a succinct summary of what had happened with Kashiwagi earlier, as seen from her perspective. She began by explaining how she had followed Ranma out of the Rose Mansion. She continued by describing Kashiwagi's attack of Sachiko, and Ranma's subsequent rescue of her. She then clarified the true nature of the assault, as Sachiko had later explained it. Finally, she concluded by providing an account of Kashiwagi's departure.

"I see. This is most disturbing," the headmistress said once Youko had finished her explanation. "Ogasawara-san, are you sure you don't want to involve the police?"

Sachiko visibly stiffened at being addressed. She took a breath and said, "Yes. As Onee-sama has explained, this was all a misunderstanding. I'm sorry for the trouble."

The headmistress nodded. She then looked down at Ranma. "As for you, Sugita-san, what should I do with you? You put me in a very awkward position. I can't condone your actions, but I can't exactly criticize them, either.

"It is correct and laudable to help those in need. Too often people ignore the plight of others, and it is commendable that you did not do so. 'Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.' It was a very brave and virtuous thing you have done, and I'm sure Maria-sama approves where your heart is.

"At the same time, I would request that you refrain from behaving so rashly in the future. Violence should be used as a last resort only. Next time, please take a moment to review the situation before you intervene in such a... drastic way."

"Okay," Ranma said. She wasn't sure what to make of that advice, though. Anything Goes Martial Arts was all about instant and decisive decision making in an ever-evolving situation. A moment was the difference between a fist to the face and a successful riposte, and the difference between a foiled venture and a successful ambush.

Clearly the headmistress's instructions didn't fit. That didn't make them wrong, though. It was equally nonsensical to use a naginata to shoot somebody, or to use a horse to perform a reverse diagonal cut. All it meant was that there was a different paradigm in play here that Ranma would need to learn. Once she understood it, she could then figure out how to connect it with the larger scheme as another set of techniques in her repertoire.

"Well, so long as Kashiwagi-san does not choose to make this an issue, I believe we can leave it at that," the headmistress said. "Is there anything else we should be discussing?"

"No," Youko said. "Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

The group left the office and then returned back to the Rose Mansion. Once there, they parted company, with goodbyes being exchanged between them. Ranma and Sachiko headed up to the conference room for some late training while the Three Roses went into the side room near the entrance.

Rather than beginning the practice session directly, though, Sachiko looked at Ranma with a somber expression. She asked, "A few days ago, you had asked me why I hadn't wanted the role of Cinderella, right?"

In the distance, the front door could be heard opening and closing.

"Yeah." It was a question which had on and off raised itself to Ranma's attention. Sachiko clearly had the capabilities as well as the interest in the play, so why she been so desperate to not be Cinderella?

Sachiko averted her gaze, looking slightly down and to the side. She said, "To tell you the truth, you now know the reason why. You met him, earlier today. It's actually Suguru-san. If I were Cinderella, I would need to act with him."

In hindsight, it was so obvious. Ranma had known Kashiwagi was playing the role of the prince, and now that she had met the boy, she could understand why Sachiko would try to avoid dealing with him.

"I see what you mean. He does seem like cad," Ranma said, using the description Yoshino had used earlier. She didn't have a problem with him, though. In the worst case, she could just give him a bloody nose. No, she could just wait to confirm that he was causing trouble, and then give him a bloody nose. That still sounded a bit weird to her, but she could try it out. It wasn't like Kashiwagi really posed any threat to her.

"Yes. I mean, no. It's not just him," Sachiko said. She then grew even more visibly nervous. She shakily said, "It's... there's... the truth is... it's a bit of an open secret, but my father has a mistress. My grandfather has one as well. If anything, Suguru-san will be a perfect fit for the Ogasawara group. My issue isn't really with him as such." Sachiko's gaze was wandering around the room as she spoke. "The truth is that I'm scared of boys. There haven't been that many of them in my life, and I don't know how to handle them."

That did sound like a problem.

But Ranma had two default solutions for problems: fighting and training. A duel with Sachiko didn't really seem to make sense here, but some special training sounded like it could work. It was just like her own efforts of trying to memorize Cinderella's lines. If Sachiko's help had worked for her, she saw no reason why her own help couldn't work for Sachiko.

Ranma said, "I see. Maybe you just need some practice."

"Practice?" Sachiko asked abruptly, directing her gaze to look Ranma in the eye. "What do you mean?"

"Like what we're doing for the play. I can help," Ranma said, straightening up a bit as she spoke. It would be perfect. She had been a boy for almost her entire life, after all.

"You can?" Sachiko asked. She sounded puzzled but hopeful. "I guess we can try."

Ranma immediately felt self-conscious. Despite that lifetime of experience, she was still flummoxed. Outside the realm of martial arts, she had never paid too much attention to how she acted. That applied to both her male and her female forms. She had never really thought about any of the differences between them. How should she stand? How should she walk? How should she talk? Now that she was trying to intentionally act like a boy specifically, it felt weird.

She sauntered closer to Sachiko, doing her best to emulate how she moved as a boy, and she stopped in front of her.

Ranma tried to stand how she normally stood as a boy, but that proved to be impossible due to the different distribution of mass and the curves on her body. She also had to look substantially up at the much taller Sachiko, which was a position Ranma rarely adopted as a boy.

Nevertheless, she didn't let that bother her as she tried to think of what she should say. What did she and Genma always talk about while they were on the road?

"Hey, Onee-sama," Ranma said. "When are we going to stop for food?"

Sachiko stared at Ranma in bafflement.

When Sachiko didn't say anything in return, Ranma tried prompting her again. She asked, "You think the next village will have anything to eat? I'm getting tired of eating squirrel all the time."

Sachiko then started to snicker. She quickly covered her mouth. Once safely behind the shelter of her hand, her giggles turned into outright laughter. The crystal-like sound rang all the louder in the quiet building.

Ranma scratched her head in confusion. She wasn't sure what had caused Sachiko to react the way she had. Still, Sachiko definitely seemed to be in a better mood, and that brought a smile to her face.

Sachiko gathered herself and, shaking her head, said, "Oh, Ranko. I can't believe it. I think you might be even worse than I am." She then giggled a bit more.

"Huh?" Ranma asked. Talking about food was one of the major things she had Genma had discussed while on the road, and she was fairly sure that she had done it right. She wonder if she should have brought up some martial arts technique instead.

The creaking of the stairs drifted into the room and caused both Ranma and Sachiko to turn to the doorway in confused anticipation. A few seconds later, Youko appeared in it.

"Onee-sama?" Sachiko asked as Youko walked in.

"It sounds like you two are having fun," Youko said. She had the smile of contagious amusement on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Just some practice," Sachiko said. She sent a sidelong glance at Ranma and then returned to addressing Youko. "What are you doing here? Can I help you with something?"

"It's nothing too special. I just have some paperwork to catch up on. Don't mind me. Please, carry on. I'll just be over here," Youko said. She took a seat at the other end of the large conference table and pulled out a small stack of paper from her book bag. The top page had a large grid printed on it, and numerous classes and club names were written along its side. Beside each name were several large numbers.

Ranma and Sachiko then began their more typical practice for the play. Despite the additional presence of Youko and the excitement in the afternoon with Kashiwagi, the training itself was fairly routinely. Unlike the night before, they went through the entire script this time, and by any measure, it was a success. The words came fluidly and easily to Ranma's tongue, and from start to finish the entire play took about 45 minutes to complete.

They had only just finished when there was a loud knock at the front door to the Rose Mansion. It took everybody by surprise.

"Oh no," Sachiko said. Her head sank to the side with a sigh. "I forgot about dinner."

For once, the prospect of dinner didn't send Ranma's stomach into an uproar. It was a very unusual experience. She felt complacent, of all things.

Youko looked up at Sachiko and asked, "Dinner? After all that curry?"

"Yes. I should have called and canceled it," Sachiko said. She shook her head. "Can you help?"

Trepidation was clear on Youko's face as she hesitantly said, "I guess so."

"I suppose there's nothing to be done for it," Sachiko said. She then walked out the door. One minute and two sets of stair creaks later, she returned. Her chauffeur and Yamamura were right behind her.

"Oh. We have dinner for three today?" Yamamura asked. As was usual, she had a large bag with her, and the chauffeur carried two trays in her hands.

"Yes. It's fine. Just give Onee-sama mine, and Ranko and I shall share hers," Sachiko said.

"Very good," Yamamura said. She spread a tablecloth on the side of the table, avoiding Youko's spread out paperwork on the other side, and pulled out three place settings from her large bag.

Ranma, Sachiko, and Youko all took a seat, and Yamamura served them. She placed one tray in front of Youko, and the other in between Ranma and Sachiko. When she pulled off the covers, though, a heavy sigh crossed the room. First from Youko, and then from Ranma and Sachiko in tandem. Ranma knew better than to pass up an opportunity to eat, especially the delicious dishes that she had come to expect, but this time she was sorely tempted to.

The plates of savory meats and flaky fishes were undoubtedly as sumptuous as the past dinners had been. Nevertheless, Ranma found herself picking at them just as tepidly as Sachiko and Youko were. By the end of the meal, Youko had eaten about two thirds of the contents of her tray, while a strong showing from Ranma allowed her and Sachiko to barely finish their shared plates.

After dinner had concluded, Ranma and Sachiko resumed their practice. This time they focused on the physical aspects of the performance, moving about the room and interacting with the various props of the play. Youko got involved as well, leaving behind her paperwork to join in helping with some stage motions and feedback. Near the end, Sachiko spent some time teaching Ranma how to do up her hair, and Ranma couldn't help but notice how soft her hands felt as she moved Ranma's hands in the spiral behind her head.

Eventually, Sachiko said, "It's getting late. We should probably be going soon."

"You are right. It is getting late," Youko said.

"Yeah," Ranma said, although when she thought about it, she found that she was not that eager to go back to camp. However, she did need to get back eventually, and the clock showed that Sachiko's and Youko's declarations were in fact correct.

Ranma and Sachiko did some light cleaning up around the room while Youko packed up the various sheets that had been spread out on the table in front of her. They then made their way out of the Rose Mansion, through the dark campus lit by lamps, and to the tall gate at the front entrance of Lillian. Sachiko's chauffeur was waiting there, as she always was.

"Would you like me to give you a ride home?" Sachiko asked Youko.

"That would be most helpful. Thank you," Youko said.

"How about you, Ranko?" Sachiko asked. "The offer is still open if you would like."

"No, no, I'm fine. Thanks," Ranma said. The situation has not fundamentally changed since the previous week, when Sachiko had first offered.

Youko looked over at Ranma with a bit of surprise. She asked, "You're not coming? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. it's fine," Ranma said.

Youko sent a questioning look at Sachiko, responded with an equally questioning look in return. Youko then said, "I suppose you have proven that you can take care of yourself today, haven't you. Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said as well.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said.

On the way back to the small Buddhist temple, Ranma's thoughts return to Sachiko's problem and how she could help her.

Kashiwagi himself was the easy part. If he caused any trouble, Ranma could simply beat him up. After confirming the trouble he was causing, she mentally added.

The bigger question was Sachiko's fear of boys in general. Her first attempts at practice hadn't quite had the effect she had expected, but maybe if she was in her male form, it would work better. The question was how to actually do it. Sachiko had no idea about her male form, and Ranma couldn't think of any way to approach her without scaring her away. At best, it would be tricky to pull off. Plus there was the risk of exposing her curse to Sachiko, too. Hot water was a constant threat, but it was nowhere near as prevalent as cold water was.

Ranma put that thought aside once she arrived at the temple. She performed her typical cursory check for any nearby observers and then sneaked into the camp as normal. She didn't even bother asking Genma about dinner. She had given up on getting anything to eat from him whenever she returned late, and even if he had had something, she wasn't convinced she would be able to actually eat it. She instead just quietly went into the tent, doffed her school uniform, and donned her keikogi.

She walked back out of the tent and caught the bottle of warm water that Genma threw at her. One quick change later, Ranma sneaked out of the camp with Genma. It was time for another night of martial arts training.

Genma surprised Ranma, though, in that he didn't initiate hostilities the moment they had entered the street. That unusual and confusing armistice continued through the run along the street and through the park at the end of it. It was enough for Ranma to start getting twitchy, waiting for the inevitable not-so-surprise attack to occur.

Even when they reached the riverside, Genma didn't initiate hostilities with a supposedly-surprise attack. He instead said, "It's been a while, boy. How close are you to getting into the Ogasawara mansion?"

Ranma almost stumbled at the question, but he managed to maintain his balance and speed.

In truth, Ranma hadn't even thought about the Ogasawara mansion for the past several days. It had somehow just faded into the background, lost amidst the swirl of daily activities associated with Sachiko, Yoshino, Shimako, the Yamayurikai, the play, and school in general. There was no way he was going to admit that oversight to Genma, though. He said, "It's going. Don't rush me."

"Are you even trying? I've left you alone because of that medal, but time's running out, and you should have gotten there days ago," Genma said. "Come up with something. Improvise. I've wasted a lot of time and effort here, and you've got less than a week left. Don't make me regret it."

"Okay, okay," Ranma said.

Genma took advantage of Ranma's possible distraction to launch his not-that-much-of-a-surprise attack. It could have worked, too, if Genma hadn't used the exact same tactic since before Ranma could remember. If anything, the initiation of hostilities relaxed Ranma, as he could stop wondering when it was going to come and instead focus on the task at hand. All other thoughts, plans, and worries vanished into the heat of the immediate fight. He easily dodged out of the way and counterattacked with a high kick.

Later in the night, after their hours of training had concluded, an exhausted Ranma collapsed onto his cold bedroll. There, much like the nameless thickness still in his chest, Genma's task quietly came back to haunt him.

Ranma had forgotten about the goal of getting into the Ogasawara mansion. It had come to feel like his time in Lillian with everybody was just something he was doing for its own sake. With Genma's reminder, though, the looming deadline was now stood prominently in his consciousness. The problem was he had no idea how to proceed.

Questions of how to get into the Ogasawara mansion continued to trouble him as he fell asleep.

* * *

Last Updated: October 22, 2020


	12. New Opportunity

Chapter 12: New Opportunity

Thoughts of how to get invited into the Ogasawara mansion preoccupied Ranma as she walked to school in the morning. There were only a few days left to accomplish the task, and it would be a lie to say it didn't worry her. She still didn't understand why there was that particular time limit, but Genma had been very clear that a deadline existed and that it was rapidly approaching.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou, Ranko-san."

Several girls greeted Ranma on her walk through the Lillian school grounds, but she disregarded them in favor of speculating, imagining, and otherwise trying to come up with a plan. She likewise ignored her morning classes, instead thinking of her goal of the Ogasawara mansion. No matter how much she thought, though, she couldn't come up with a clever plan to get Sachiko to invite her. The only idea she could think of trying was challenging Sachiko to a duel, but she didn't see how that would help in this case.

Ranma reflexively dodged backwards and to the side. An arm was flying at her face, and the imminent attack penetrated her mental haze, instantly becoming the priority issue to deal with. She rolled out of her chair and into the open aisle, landing in a crouch. She quickly looked up at her attacker, ready to riposte or leap away, depending on what the follow-up to the attack would be.

The astonished and fearful face of Yoshino met her gaze. All around the room, everybody had stopped moving and was staring at Ranma.

"Sorry," Yoshino said. She flexed her free hand open and closed in an apologetic gesture as she lowered it from where she had been waving it in front of Ranma's face. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. I was just wondering if you were coming to lunch."

The girls who had remained in the classroom for lunch all continued to stare and openly eavesdropping on the conversation.

"What? Oh, right," Ranma said. She stood up and reached over for her book bag. Its thin profile caused her to remember, though. She had been so preoccupied in the morning that she hadn't bought anything. She asked, "Can we drop by the vending machines on the way?"

"I don't see why not," Yoshino said.

They left the classroom and began their journey. Behind them, their classmates slowly resumed what they had been doing, be it eating their lunches, preparing for the upcoming festival, or both.

Throughout the building, all pretenses of normalcy had vanished. There was no longer any doubt that the school was in full festival-preparation mode. Girls were briskly walking about, some on their own and others in small clusters. They carried papers, chairs, posters, rods, pots, bags, costumes, stands, tools, and a multitude of other items. There were only two more days to go, and everybody very overtly knew it.

As they walked down the stairs, Yoshino turned to Ranma and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Hmm?" Ranma asked. It took a second for the question to get enough of her attention to register. Once it did, she said, "Right, yes, everything's fine, nothing wrong here, teeheehee." She scratched the back of her head reflexively.

"If you're sure," Yoshino said hesitantly. They walked a bit further. At the bottom of the stairs, though, Yoshino turned back again. "If anything is wrong, though, you do know you can talk to us, right? Shimako-san and me. I'm sure Sachiko-sama and everybody in the Yamayurikai as well. We all want to help, if we can."

"Yeah," Ranma said halfheartedly. Ironically, Sachiko was the problem in this case, and having that emphasized made Ranma feel ever worse.

However, there was something else as well. Yoshino's statement sounded familiar, somehow. Ranma was reminded of quilt-like bread and savory rice. She thought about that and was able to make the connection. The reason why it had sounded so familiar was that Sachiko had said something very similar a couple of days earlier, during the dinner after the costume fitting.

Sachiko had offered to help Ranma with her problems, and it turned out that she did have a problem: how to get invited into Sachiko's house. When she thought about it that way, it seemed obvious. She could just ask Sachiko directly. It would be easy to ask in the evening, either at the start of their practice or maybe after dinner. Problem solved.

In fact, knowing what she knew now about the soeur system, she probably could have asked directly right after she had been tasked with getting an invitation into the Ogasawara mansion. It would have meant that she could have completed her task immediately, before the welcome ceremony; and the costume fitting session; and the nights spent practicing with Sachiko; and the lunches shared with Yoshino and Shimako; and the curry feast; and the multiple dinners Sachiko had brought; and everything else that had happened over the past few days, she thought wistfully.

Ranma shook all the speculation on how things could have been out of her head and turned her attention to the more immediate matter at hand as she and Yoshino approached the vending machines. She inserted her coins into the machine, and she reached for the button for instant noodles. However, she hesitated as another thought occurred to her. She turned back to Yoshino and asked, "You and Shimako-san don't really like those noodles, do you?"

Yoshino slightly averted her gaze and said, "It's true that they wouldn't be my first choice."

"Then is there anything else you'd like instead?" Ranma asked.

Yoshino stepped closer and looked through the different products on offer. She asked, "How about some of this bread?"

Ranma checked the price. "Sure," she said. She pushed the button and became the proud owner of a roll of melon bread. Ranma then repeated the purchase twice more. The rolls were definitely smaller than the instant noodles were, which was a disappointment to Ranma, but if Yoshino and Shimako had brought as much as they had in the past, that would hardly be an issue.

Having purchased the appetizer, Ranma and Yoshino proceeded to meet Shimako at their typical place. Along the way, Ranma decided to stop worrying about the situation with Sachiko. She had a plan, and there was nothing she could do until the afternoon, so there was no reason to worry about it until then.

As they approached the solitary cherry tree behind the primary gym, they saw Shimako and Tsutako there. Shimako had one edge of a sheet in her hands while Tsutako had the other edge of the sheet in hers. The two girls were kneeling down to place it. Once it was firmly set, the two girls stood up and turned to Ranma and Yoshino.

"Gokigenyou," Shimako and Tsutako both said.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma and Yoshino both replied.

Tsutako picked up a small stack of photographs from the ground and held them out to Ranma. She said, "The pictures came out really well."

This first photograph was a picture of the dance practice the previous Saturday in the secondary gym. Ranma was at the end of a spin, hanging on to Rei's outstretched hand. To the side was Shouko, her hands clapped together. The bit of sill, jambliner, and grill on the edges of the picture made it clear that it had been taken from the outside peering in through a window. A small label on the top read, "Head of a Pin."

"You and Onee-sama look really good there," Yoshino said.

Ranma nodded. She agreed she and Rei looked particularly elegant in that picture.

She flipped to the next one.

The second photograph was of Yoshino, Eriko, and Rei walking down an outdoor path. They were in a line, and each of them was carrying a pot. Eriko's pot was labeled with a "2." Beside her, Rei's pot was labeled with a "1." Yoshino was the third in line, and she was carrying an unlabeled pot. The top of the photograph was labeled, "Succession."

Ranma looked at Yoshino, who gave a slight nod back. Ranma then flipped to the last picture in the stack.

The third photograph was of the previous day's lunch. Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako were all sitting on a sheet on the ground with various small dishes spread out between them. Ranma had her chopsticks in her mouth and was obviously enjoying herself. Yoshino was in the middle of grabbing a cutlet with her chopsticks. Even though Shimako had her hand up to her mouth, the crinkles near her eyes and cheeks made it clear that she was giggling. This one was labeled, "Rose Garden."

"So, what do you think?" Tsutako asked. She had craned her head over such that she could see which picture Ranma held in her hands.

Ranma didn't know too much about photography, but the pictures looked nice enough. She said, "They seem fine to me."

"I like them," Yoshino said.

"Then can I use them for our photography club display?" Tsutako asked. She had a trace of apprehension in her voice.

Ranma didn't particularly care either way. She looked over at Yoshino, and the two shared a shrug. She looked over to Shimako as well, who also gave a non-committal look back.

"I think it would be fine," Shimako said.

"I don't have a problem," Yoshino said.

"Sure," Ranma said. She handed the stack of pictures back to Tsutako.

"Thanks," Tsutako said. She took the stack of photographs, but kept her hands outstretched. "The thing is, can you help me ask Rosa Foetida and Rei-sama? Please?" She offered two of the photographs out more directly to Yoshino.

Yoshino responded by taking the pictures. She said, "That's fine, but you'll need to ask Shouko-sama about this one yourself."

"That's fine. Thank you for your help. Thank you very much," Tsutako said. She gave some hurried, short bows. "Gokigenyou." She gave one more bow, and then walked away.

With the departure of Tsutako, lunch could commence. Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako all spread out their respective contributions, with Ranma's distribution being substantially faster than the other two girls'. Not only did she have less to pass out, she was very motivated to begin the eating as soon as she could.

They had only just started to eat, though, when Eriko appeared on the path near the primary gym. She caught sight of them and then changed her direction to walk straight at the trio.

"Oh, you're all here. That's convenient," Eriko said once she was close enough to talk. "I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch, but we may have a problem."

The declaration of a problem caused Ranma to worry once again. It seemed this day was full of problems.

"What is it?" Yoshino asked.

"Youko, Sei, and I were talking, and we're worried about Kashiwagi-san," Eriko said.

"He's back already?" Ranma asked, and she eagerly jumped to her feet. Her worry evaporated, replaced with a giddy enthusiasm at the prospects of a rematch. That didn't sound like a problem. It sounded more like an opportunity.

Ranma had not expected Kashiwagi to have returned so soon. Rematches usually didn't happen that quickly. Typically it took more than a single night of special training to develop a counter to somebody's fighting style. It wasn't unprecedented, though, and those breakthrough cases had made for some of the best fights she had ever had. She was excited to see what new technique he had learned which he thought could beat her.

Eriko jolted back a step from Ranma's sudden launch upward. She said, "No, it's not that. He's not here. It's just he's supposed to be the prince for our play, right?"

"That's right," Yoshino said. She also climbed to her feet, much less abruptly than Ranma had. Shimako stood up as well.

"We were thinking that after what happened yesterday, he might not show up anymore," Eriko said.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," Ranma said. Kashiwagi was probably dedicating his every waking moment to special training. After all, he had not only been beaten, he had been absolutely trounced, and maybe even humiliated.

"Then what should we do?" Yoshino asked.

In the distance, Sei approached along the path near the primary gym. When she saw the group, though, she paused. She then turned around and left.

"That's what I'm here for," Eriko said. "Do you two still remember your lines from two weeks ago, back when we only had Sister A and Sister C?"

"Yes," Shimako said.

"We've been practicing that way with Ranko-san," Yoshino said.

"You have? In that case, it's even better," Eriko said. "If Kashiwagi-san does withdraw, then we're going to go back to what we had originally planned to do, only with Sachiko playing the prince and Ranko-chan playing Cinderella."

"Sachiko-sama as the prince? Not Onee-sama?" Yoshino asked.

"Yes. Removing Sister B will cause less disruption than trying to figure out what to do with the wizard if Rei changes. We weren't even planning on having Sister B before Ranko-chan joined us, and Sachiko already has the prince's part memorized," Eriko said.

"Sachiko-sama does?" Yoshino asked.

"According to Youko she does," Eriko said.

"She does," Ranma said. She was reminded of her own surprise when she had found out. However, Sachiko had been correct; Ranma had found it easier once she had stopped concentrating on Cinderella's lines only. "She's been helping me practice, too."

"I see," Yoshino said.

"We're still trying to figure out if Kashiwagi-san will or will not be coming. Just be prepared in case we do need to do a late change," Eriko said.

"Understood."

"Gokigenyou." Eriko departed.

Ranma wasn't sure to think about this most recent development. She was certainly excited with the idea that Kashiwagi was preparing for a rematch, hopefully one which would be less one-sided than the previous fight had been. On the other hand, it did seem like this could cause a great deal of trouble for the play. On the other other hand, it meant Sachiko wouldn't have to face him again. On the other other other hand, it meant that Sachiko wouldn't get to face him again.

Was Kashiwagi more like Martial Arts Mountain Bicycle Racing to Sachiko, where it was important to keep getting back on and trying again? Or was he more like cats to her, where avoidance was the best course of action? Ranma wasn't sure.

In the end, though, Kashiwagi either would or would not show up. She could decide what to do once she knew which way it was. The specialty of Anything Goes Martial Arts was instant adapting to dynamically changing situations, after all.

Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako sat down again. They quickly finished their food, did a bit of practice, cleaned up the evidence of their lunch, and then returned back to their classrooms.

Much like the morning the day before, classes in the afternoon for the First-year Chrysanthemum Group were interrupted in favor of festival preparations. Both the history and the mathematics classes were canceled, with Ami taking charge during those periods.

The first thing Ami did was arrange the shift schedule. A point was made to split the shifts of the two "star attractions," with Ranma getting the first time slot and Yoshino getting the third.

After the schedule was set, the rest of the time was spent with the back-of-house students practicing their food and drink preparation while the front-of-house students tried on costumes. Ranma and Yoshino in turn both ended up a red and black dress, with red hearts on the black sections and black hearts on the red sections. Other costumes around the room included a green suit with a large top hat, a yellow vest with bunny-ears on a headband, and a stripped purple and lavender dress with cat-ears on a headband. That the last costume was a bit disconcerting to Ranma, but it was abstract enough that she could ignore it without any real trouble.

Once all the front-of-house students had finished trying on their costumes and the back-of-house students had concluded their practice, all of the festival supplies were carefully sequestered away and stored. From there, the rest of the classes proceeded more normally. Then there was another after-school clean-up, and Ranma joined Yoshino in walking to the secondary gym; due to other competing festival activities, they would not be able to use the actual stage of the performance until their dress rehearsals.

Ranma and Yoshino were both intercepted right when they walked into the gym. One of the girls from the invention club pulled Ranma in one direction, and a girl from the handicrafts club pulled Yoshino in a different direction.

The girl from the inventions club had long brown hair, and she introduce herself as Harumi. She led Ranma to a corner of the gym which had had a curtain raised to surround it. In her arms she carried a sizable bundle of brown fabric.

Ranma stepped into the enclosed area, and Harumi followed right behind her. Before the curtain had settled to a stop, though, it re-opened. Sachiko stepped in. She was still dressed in her Lillian sailor uniform.

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said. "Do you think you could excuse us for a moment, Harumi-san? There's something I would like to speak with Ranko about."

"Of course. I'll just be outside if you need anything," Harumi said. She then stepped out, leaving Ranma alone with Sachiko.

Ranma looked at Sachiko in curiosity.

Sachiko stepped closer to Ranma, and she reached down and straightened the neckerchief around Ranma's neck. She then said in a slightly quiet voice, "If Suguru-san shows up today, I'd like you to do me a favor."

"What's that?" Ranma asked.

"I'd like you to apologize to him," Sachiko said.

"For what?" Ranma asked. She wasn't opposed to apologizing when she, or Genma, had done something wrong. However, she couldn't think of anything wrong she had done to him.

"For the fight yesterday," Sachiko said.

"Ahh..." Ranma said. That made sense. It also explained why Sachiko had asked Hamuri to give them some privacy. Ranma leaned in a bit closer and asked in a quiet voice, "What's the trick?"

"Trick? What do you mean?" Sachiko asked.

"You said I should apologize, right? What's the trick we're going to pull on him?" If she hadn't done anything wrong, then the only other reason to apologize was to do a trick, such as the Tatami Flip technique, not that the gym had tatami mats.

"There's no trick," Sachiko said. She sighed and shook her head. "I know. You didn't really do anything wrong. But Suguru-san didn't deserve to be hurt like that, either. We need to do something to repair the relationship."

"Sure, I guess," Ranma said. She still didn't understand, but if Sachiko said she should do it, she could go along with it and see what happened.

"Thank you," Sachiko said. She straightened up, walked back to the curtain, opened it, and stepped out. In a slightly loud voice, she said, "Thank you, Harumi-san. I'm finished." She held the curtain open as Harumi re-entered, and then she left.

As the curtain settled again, Harumi held the bundle of brown fabric she was still carrying out to Ranma and said, "Here. Put this on, please."

Amazingly, the brown mass was even bulkier than the white dress Ranma had worn two days earlier. It felt much heavier than she thought it should, and there were numerous large gray patches sewn all over it. It was shaped a bit strange, too, and Harumi needed to help Ranma find the edge and subsequently don it.

"How does it feel?" Harumi asked.

"Fine, I guess," Ranma said. She twisted back and forth in an attempt to check how it looked.

The costume appeared just as bulky on her body as it had in Harumi's arms. More than anything, it looked like somebody had taken a sack and cut some holes in it for Ranma's head and arms to poke out from. It was strange, though. Even though the curves of her bust and waist were barely visible on the surface of the dress, Ranma could still feel the bodice tightly hugging her torso.

"That's good. Now here's the trick. You see these cords?" Harumi asked. She pointed out some small lines on the side of the costume. "Go ahead and pull them. Straight out." Harumi took a step back.

Ranma gave the cords a tug as instructed.

The brown cloth ripped open, revealing swaths of white inside.

"Somebody else will need to pull on these cords on the bottom to finish the transformation. Please hold still," Harumi said. She fell to her hands and knees, crawled forward, and pulled something down near Ranma's waist.

This completed the transformation. The white dress she now wore looked completely different than the formless brown bag she had initially put on. It wasn't quite the same as the dress she had had fitted to her two days earlier, but it was close enough that it was clear they had been modeled after each other.

"How does that feel? Does it still feel okay?" Harumi asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said.

"Good," Harumi said. "Now keep in mind that this is just a temporary dress for the transformation scene. You'll still need to change into the real one for the dance scene. Why don't we go over there now and see how that works?"

Ranma followed Harumi across the gym, to the corner where the handicrafts club member had taken Yoshino earlier. The calf-length skirt was a lot better than the over-sized monstrosity she had initially worn on that fitting day, but Ranma still slightly lifted it as she walked across the gym to prevent any accidental missteps.

There was another curtain-enclosed area here as well. The three members of the Yellow Rose Family were all standing just outside of it. Rei was dressed as a Western nobleman, and Eriko was wearing her red Victorian dress. Undoubtedly, Yoshino was the center of attention, though. She looked mildly impatient as Eriko and Rei both hovered around her and fussed with her blue dress.

Ranma stepped into the larger makeshift changing room. Within it were Sachiko and Fuuko. Sachiko had changed into her red and black dress.

"Ranko-san. Perfect. Here," Fuuko said. She held out a large bundle of white cloth.

With Harumi's assistance, Ranma removed the transformation dress. Harumi then claimed it and took it out of the changing room while Fuuko helped Ranma put on the dance dress.

"Is anywhere loose? Is anything pinching you?" Fuuko asked.

"Nah, it's good," Ranma said. The dress paradoxically felt both looser and more secure than it had during the fitting two days earlier.

"Good," Fuuko said.

"Before I forget, try these on as well," Sachiko said. She handed over a pair of high-heel shoes. Somebody had glued silver sequins onto them such that they sparkled in the light, drawing the eye and demanding attention.

Ranma double-checked that her feet were in fact on solid ground, rather than on the hem of her skirt, and then she slid the shoes on. They were a perfect fit.

"How do they feel?" Sachiko asked.

The height of the heels subtly changed Ranma's center of balance and her posture, but there wasn't anything particularly painful or problematic. She said, "Fine."

"Good. Then we had best go," Sachiko said. "Onee-sama is trying to gather everybody together."

The added height of the shoes further raised the hem of her skirt to the point that Ranma didn't think she was in any danger of tripping on it. Nevertheless, she was still very deliberate with where and how she placed her feet as she walked across the room to where a large collection of girls were gathering around Youko; the high heels changed how her feet contacted the ground, and she had to adjust her gait to compensate for that.

"Sachiko, Ranko-chan, you're here now? Good," Youko said. She was dressed in her royal regalia. She looked back and forth across the assembled girls, both the Yamayurikai and the members of the dance club.

All the girls in the area had dressed up in fancy clothes. About half of the girls wore long dresses, and the other half wore fairly formal shirts and trousers. However, the Yamayurikai wore the most ornate clothing by far.

Youko raised her voice. It wasn't quite a shout, but it was loud enough to carry through the crowd near her. "Everybody. This will be the last practice session before our dress rehearsal tomorrow, so let's make it count. We'll begin by doing the whole dance choreography from the beginning. Please pair up with your partner and take your places." Youko then lowered her voice to more of a typical speaking voice. "Ranko-chan, as Kashiwagi-san isn't here yet, you'll need to dance on your own for now. Just pretend like you have a partner and do the best you can. I'm sure you'll do fine."

Ranma walked over and took her place in the center of the makeshift stage.

On the side of the gym, Shouko pushed a button on a CD player, and stately music filled the room.

Dancing while wearing the elaborate gown and shoes was even more different to dancing in the Lillian sailor uniform than walking around was different while wearing them. The skirt swayed and flared out substantially more, especially during the spins, and the extra inertia of it changed Ranma's timings and momentum. More impactful to her performance, though, were the shoes. The high heels changed Ranma's center of balance and her relationship to the ground. Her movements, and especially the placement of her feet, were different enough that Ranma had to constantly mind them. She slightly stumbled three times, once when her heel hit the floor unexpectedly early and twice due to off-balance foot placements, but each time she caught herself well enough to prevent a fall.

About 15 minutes into the session, while Youko was talking to three pairs of girls about adjusting their positions, Sei entered the gym. Even as she approached Youko, she shook her head and hand in a motion of negation. It was enough to catch the attention of everybody in the room, including Youko herself.

When she got closer, Sei said, "No luck. I think Kashiwagi-san's out. I tried calling Hanadera, and they said that something important had just come up and that they couldn't talk."

"I'm sure that's it," Youko said, her flat tone of voice making it clear that she didn't believe it at all. "In that case, we had best go with our backup plan."

Eriko and Sei both nodded in response.

Youko raised her voice to call across the room. "Fuuko-san?"

"Yes, Rosa Chinensis?" Fuuko asked, walking closer at being addressed.

"I'm afraid to say that we will need to have a casting change. Sachiko will be playing the part of the prince now," Youko said. She spoke more moderately than her previous near-shout, although it was still a bit louder than normal such that she could be heard over the music playing in the background.

Fuuko nearly squealed, "Sachiko-sama will be playing the part of the prince? How exciting."

"Yes. I hate to impose on you, but do you think it would be possible to have the prince's costume adjusted to fit?" Youko asked.

"Yes. Yes. Of course. Definitely," Fuuko said quickly and loudly. She had a glint in her eye. "Sachiko-sama, if you could please come this way? If you don't mind?" She escorted Sachiko across the gym to where a cluster of girls in the handicrafts club were standing.

Youko then raised her voice again and called across the room. "Shouko-san?"

"Yes, Rosa Chinensis?" Shouko asked, approaching Youko like Fuuko had earlier.

"Did you hear what I said to Fuuko-san?" Youko asked.

"I'm sorry. I did not," Shouko said.

"We are going to be making a casting change. Sachiko will now be playing the part of the prince," Youko said.

"I see," Shouko said.

"Would it be possible to arrange a new dance partner for Kana-san?" Youko asked.

"I think so. Sachiko-san was doing a follow part, right? One moment please," Shouko said. She walked back across the room to where some girls in the dance club were watching from near the wall. She exchanged some words with the girls there, and then returned back to the center of the room. There was some excited chattering left behind in her wake.

"Yes! For prince Sachiko-sama!" The loud shout overpowered the music in the air and caught Ranma's attention. She jerked her gaze away from the approaching Shouko and looked in the direction of the shout.

Across the room, Sachiko was standing a bit to the side and was watching as the seven girls of the handicrafts club all raised their right fists high in the air in unison and cheered, "Oh!" Sachiko remained absolutely still.

"They certainly seem to be excited," Youko said, drawing some attention away from the bustling girls and back to the center of the room. She then turned back to face Shouko, who appeared to be hovering in indecision a few meters away. She asked, "Did you have any luck?"

At the prompting, Shouko resumed her walk forward. When she was closer to Youko, she said, "Yes. Seika-san would be happy to join, if you would have her."

"That would be most acceptable. Shouko-san, if you would be kind enough to help Seika-san?" Youko turned back to the assembled group as a whole and clapped her hands twice. "Okay, everybody. Take your places. Let's start over from the top."

Shouko beckoned back to the girls at the side of the room, and a girl with short, wavy, blonde hair approached. She joined the assembled group as everybody took their places once again.

They practiced for another hour before Youko brought it to a close. Some generic "thank yous" and "good jobs" filled the air as the assembled group started to disperse for the evening.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, Sachiko entered at this point. She had changed back into her Lillian sailor uniform, and she walked straight at Ranma.

"Onee-sama," Ranma said, seizing the opportunity. "Can I come visit your home today?" If she waited until after dinner, it would probably be too late to get any real observation of Sachiko in her home element.

"That's a good idea," Sachiko said. "We really must get some dance practice in, and my house is probably a better place to do it. Let me call my parents and see what they say. Do you need to call your father?"

"Nah, it'll be fine," Ranma said. It was impossible to call him, anyway. She didn't know where he was; if he was at the camp, she didn't know the phone number of the temple in which they had hidden themselves; and even if she did know that number, she couldn't have called without revealing their presence there.

Sachiko walked away, leaving Ranma tense, hoping her plan worked. While Sachiko was gone, Ranma changed clothes, and she emerged from the curtained area as Sachiko walked back into the gym. It was the critical moment, and Ranma was both nervous and hopeful.

Sachiko said, "My mother says that you are welcome to come. Shall we?"

So after all of Ranma's thinking, planning, and worrying, it turned out to just be that simple.

The school campus was still brightly lit as Ranma emerged from the secondary gym beside Sachiko, but the light from the dipping sun had started to take on an orange hue. There were a couple of girls who could also be seen walking to the front gates as well. All combined, it gave Lillian the feel of a quiet hamlet beginning to shut down for the evening.

At the front gate of Lillian, Ranma's eyes automatically flicked over to where she knew Sachiko's chauffeur would be waiting. To her surprise, though, she wasn't there.

"Where is she?" Ranma asked.

"Where is who?" Sachiko asked. She continued to walk, irrespective of the missing person and vehicle.

Ranma followed her away from the unlit streetlight the car was always parked at. She said, "Your driver person. The woman who's always bringing dinner with Yamamura-san."

"You mean Shimono-san?" Sachiko asked. "I don't know. She's probably back at my house."

"Huh?" Ranma asked. "Then how do you go home?"

"Oh, I see," Sachiko said. "You don't understand. I usually take the bus and train to come to school. I've only been driven home the past few days because of how late it's been."

"Oh," Ranma said.

It proved that this was in fact a valuable expedition to undertake. Ranma was already learning things about Sachiko which she hadn't known from her prior experiences within Lillian. How those things fit in with her verbal techniques, Ranma wasn't sure, but she didn't need to at this point. Imitation was one of the first steps to learning and understanding.

Ranma followed Sachiko to a nearby bus stop. There, about two dozen girls were standing in a queue. The bus was already in sight as they arrived, so Ranma and Sachiko slightly sped up, and they were able to join the end of the queue right as the bus's doors opened.

As was typical, Ranma waited for the trickle of people leaving through the back door to end. In this case, nobody left from the nearly empty bus. She then darted into the back door and proceeded to blend in with the people there, acting nonchalant.

There was a brief moment of surprise and confusion on Sachiko's face when she entered and saw Ranma was already standing there. Sachiko shook her head and joined her, although Sachiko's eyebrows remained furrowed.

The bus made a few more stops on its route, but it remained conspicuously dominated by Lillian students until it reached the M Train Station. There, it emptied out, spilling girls everywhere. They formed into two rough groups, with one group heading to other nearby buses and the other group walking into the train station. Sachiko, and by extension Ranma, were part of the latter group.

Ranma stayed close to Sachiko as she approached the station wickets. As they walked, Ranma surveyed the area for any station attendants. She saw none, so when she reached the gates, she quickly hopped over them.

"What are you doing?" Sachiko shouted. She ran forward four steps to stand in front of Ranma.

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.

"What about your ticket?" Sachiko asked. She pointed back to the wickets she and Ranma had passed through and over respectively.

"Ticket? What ticket?" Ranma asked.

"You don't have a ticket?" Sachiko asked.

"No," Ranma said.

"So you just hopped over the gate?" Sachiko asked, exasperated.

"Yeah. That's what we always do," Ranma said. It was like a game. It was even better when she and Genma were caught. Running away through the crowds was always good training, and moreover, it was fun.

Sachiko directed a disapproving stare at Ranma, and that concerned her. She was supposed to be observing and learning from Sachiko on this expedition.

"Is that a problem?" Ranma asked.

"Yes!" Sachiko sighed. "Why didn't you just say something? Come here. I'll get you one."

She led Ranma to a nearby counter. Sachiko discussed the situation with the attendant there, and then reached into her book bag. She fiddled around inside it for a few seconds before pulling out the largest note Ranma had ever seen before. Sachiko handed the note to the attendant, and she received back a ticket and several notes in return.

Ranma had to juggle around her book bag and the silver shoes she carried to receive the ticket, but she managed to get it placed into her book bag. She then followed Sachiko to a train platform.

They made their way towards the end of the platform and ended up in the second-to-last car of the train when it arrived. The entire car was filled with girls, about half of which were from Lillian and half of which wore different sailor and gakuran uniforms from schools Ranma didn't recognize. There wasn't a single boy in sight, but after a week and a half in Lillian, that was hardly an unusual experience.

After several stops, Sachiko led Ranma off the train and onto another bus. This time, under Sachiko's watchful eye, Ranma slid the ticket she had been given into the machine at the front of the bus while she was getting on.

The sun had fully set by the time Ranma and Sachiko exited the bus. The slowly fading twilight still illuminated the open spaces and greenery all around them, though. They walked for a few more minutes through the quiet streets before they reached a large wall. Several trees towered over the wall, displaying desaturated greens, yellows, and reds against the darkening sky.

Sachiko led Ranma to a huge stone gateway, as large as the one in the front entrance of Lillian and twice as opulent. In the center of the crossbeam on top was an intricately carved emblem. On one of the columns on the side of the gate was a large sign reading "Ogasawara." Sachiko walked to the opposite column, though, and pressed a button on a small panel embedded there. She announced her presence, and the gateway door opened on its own.

Passing through the gate was like entering an entirely different world, more akin to a forest than urban Tokyo. The road gently curved through the aesthetically placed trees, and the gate and the city behind it quickly disappeared from view. It eventually emerged into a large clearing, in the center of which was a literal mansion.

If the Rose Mansion was a fancy title for what was effectively a small house, the Ogasawara mansion was the exact opposite. It was grand to the point that, if anything, the title may have been an understatement. The palatial building was huge, possibly rivaling Lillian's main building itself. Large rectangular windows covered its walls. Tall stately columns gave it a feeling of grandeur. A broad balcony stood above the main entrance awning, overlooking the English garden in the front of the building. The mansion could have been transported from 1900s Europe straight into Tokyo.

To the side of the building was a porte-cochere. There, Shimono and another pretty, young woman sat on some chairs under the awning. Beyond the porte-cochere was a large covered parking lot. It was empty, though, not even containing the large dark car Ranma had always seen picking up Sachiko.

Sachiko walked to the front door, which opened at her arrival. She entered and announced, "I'm home."

"Welcome home," a woman wearing a kimono said from the other side of the entry hall.

"Mother, I like to introduce you to my petite soeur, Ranko Sugita," Sachiko said.

Ranma looked up at the woman in greeting. Small wrinkles lined the woman's face, and she had a refined and stern look. More than that, though, she bore an unmistakable resemblance to Sachiko; if Sachiko was the tentative princess coming into her own, then the woman was the mature queen who exhibited the full confidence of her being.

"My, how cute. You have a good eye, Sachiko-san," the woman said.

"Nice to meet you," Ranma said. Behind her, the pretty, young woman who had opened the door for her and Sachiko closed it. "Do please call me Sayako-obasan, and I shall call you Ranko-chan, okay?"

"Okay," Ranma said.

"We shall be practicing in the ballroom," Sachiko said.

"I understand. It was a pleasure to meet you," Sayako said. She then turned and walked back into the hallway behind her.

While the outside of the mansion had been decidedly Western, its inside was more of a fusion between Japanese and Western decor. There was a distinctly Japanese style at its core, with tatami mat floors, sliding doors, and an overall feeling of brown and beige. The decorations had an undeniable Western feel to them, though. The hallways were kept warmly lit by the numerous gold sconces set high on the walls. Also along the walls were numerous paintings, with each hallway having its own theme, such as images of village life which turned into blurry nonsense upon close examination, and photo-realistic images of Mt. Fuji in the different seasons. Additionally, in certain key locations, there were tables upon which were displayed various decorations, such as orchids, porcelain vases, and objects made of silver or lacquer.

Sachiko led the way through the mansion, through one hallway where a pretty maid was replacing some flowers on display, and then into another intersecting hallway. As they walked, Sachiko pointed out, "This is the library. The servants live down that hallway. That's the ballroom. The kitchen and dining room are over there. Did you need to use a restroom? There's one there if you need it." She walked up a flight of stairs and went through another two hallways. "That's my father's room. That's my mother's room. This is a guest room. This is my grandfather's room. That's the furo. That's another guest room. And this is my room." She entered the last room she mentioned, and Ranma followed her into it.

It was a large room, with 12 tatami mats lining the floor. There was a built-in desk under the windows, and several cabinets lined the walls. Upon these were some books, a couple of closed cases, and a photograph of Sachiko in a kimono with a man and woman also dressed in kimonos behind her. The woman was Sayako, and presumably the man was her father.

Sachiko walked over to one of the cabinets and slid it open. She knelt down, looked a bit, and started searching through the clothes inside. She eventually found something which satisfied her, pulled it out, and handed it to Ranma. She said, "Here."

Ranma took the long skirt being offered to her. She asked, "What's this for?"

"It's for practice," Sachiko said. She turned back to the cabinet and continued to dig around in it.

"Practice?"

"Yes, practice. You said you haven't worn many long skirts in the past, right? You'd best practice. It'd be a disaster if you tripped in front of the whole school on Sunday."

Ranma was a bit skeptical, but she couldn't disagree that dancing with the long skirt had felt different. The shoes were a bigger issue by far, but the flares of the skirt had changed her momentum enough to be worth practicing, too.

"Fine," Ranma said, and took off her sailor dress. She put on the skirt, as well as a blouse that Sachiko handed over. They weren't a great fit, but they were good enough for some basic practice. Sachiko took the opportunity to change out of her sailor uniform into a more casual blouse and skirt as well.

"Shall we?" Sachiko asked. She led the way back through the upstairs hallways, down the stairs, through another hallway, and eventually to the room Sachiko had identified as the ballroom on the way in.

The ballroom was somewhat smaller than the primary gym at Lillian, but was decorated much more finely. It exhibited an even stronger Western decor than the rest of the house did. Two large gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling above, illuminating the entire room in a warm yellow light. There was a huge bank of windows along one side of the room, and the wall opposite it was covered in large mirrors which caused the room to appear even larger than it already was. There were numerous plush chairs and gleaming tables along the other two sides of the room. On the tables were a collection of silver and jade statues, as well as some more porcelain vases. A pretty maid was dusting the room, but as Sachiko and Ranma entered, she gave them a small bow and left.

"Go ahead and put on your shoes," Sachiko said as she walked over to one of the side walls. She slid a hidden panel open and fiddled with the machine within. This caused the room to become filled with slow and stately music.

Ranma slid the silver shoes she had carried from Lillian onto her feet, and she walked to the center of the room. The heels once again altered her balance and posture, adding a definite sway to her gait.

Sachiko approached her from the other side of the room. She still stood taller than Ranma did by a fair margin, but the height from the shoes went a good way to reducing the difference. She held out her hands and asked, "Shall we?"

Ranma stepped forward and adopted the starting position of the dance.

At the first contact with Sachiko's soft hands, unadorned by the callouses that Rei and Ranma herself possessed, Ranma could already tell the experience would be different. Then Sachiko stepped forward and proved it.

It was impossible to explain how or why, but somehow Ranma just knew what Sachiko was intending with her every movement. Forward, backwards, spin, turn. While Rei had telegraphed her motions for Ranma to read, with Sachiko, it was more of an instinctual understanding. Rei had felt challenging in their dance, but a better description of Sachiko might have been supporting.

Even if it was smoother, their dance was by no means perfect. Early in the practice, Sachiko twice stepped on Ranma's feet. Ranma also had a few mishaps of her own, once when her skirt got caught on something, and thrice more when her heels struck the floor earlier than she expected them to. As the dance continued, though, things improved. Sachiko stopped stepping on Ranma's feet, Ranma felt more comfortable with her attire, and the world disappeared in favor of the back and forth between the two of them. Around and around they went in vaguely circular patterns of different sizes and complexities, accompanied only by the music in the air and the reflection of two young women dancing in the mirror.

At some point, the volume of the music lowered before turning silent. Sachiko slowed to a stop. She was panting and a light sheen of perspiration covered her face.

Ranma likewise stopped. Even she felt a bit tired. It was a light tingle of exertion, so different than the sharp exhaustion after a protracted fight. Apparently they had been dancing for two hours, and she could feel the fine sheen of sweat coving her skin. She had been having so much fun that she hadn't even realized. It was like the script practice they had been doing before. Somehow it seemed like time just passed by faster whenever she was with Sachiko.

Sayako stood at the side of the room, near the hidden panel which controlled the music. She asked, "Will Ranko-chan be joining us for dinner today?"

Before Ranma could say anything, Sachiko said, "Yes, she will be." She smiled down at Ranma and asked, "Right?"

"Yeah," Ranma said emphatically with a nod.

"Excellent. Dinner shall be served in five minutes," Sayako said. She then left.

The energetic smile was still on Sachiko's face as she turned back to Ranma. "I had no idea dancing could be that fun."

"Me either." Ranma had a matching smile on her face.

"We had best clean up," Sachiko said. She was quickly catching her breath. "Let's go. The restroom is this way."

The restroom Sachiko led Ranma to was huge. It was more like being in a fancy hotel than being in a traditional house. There was a long bank of sinks on the wall, each with its own golden-framed mirror in front of it. The golden sconces found throughout the mansion lined the walls of this room as well. There was a small stack of towels on a stand near the door, and a covered basket sat beside them.

Sachiko took one of the towels on the way into the room, wet it under a sink, and used it to dab around her face and her arms. Ranma imitated her, being sure to use cold water from the faucet. Afterward, they both dropped their towels into the small basket near the door, and Sachiko led Ranma from the restroom to the room she had previously identified as the dining room.

Like seemingly all the rooms in the mansion, the dining room was huge. A full 16 tatami mats lined the floor of it. Sliding doors formed the walls, and along one side were some large silk screens. In the center of the room was a low lacquered table of moderate size. Three cushions had been placed around it, and the three place settings had been set on it.

Sayako was already sitting on one of the cushions. In front of her was a salad. The empty cushion across from her had the same in front of it. The one beside that was also similarly arranged, only having two salads instead.

Sachiko hesitated ever so fractionally when walking in, but then took a seat across from her mother. Ranma sat on the last cushion, next to Sachiko.

"Is father not joining us today?" Sachiko asked. A hint of a frown came to her face.

Sayako said, "Your father called earlier. He said that he would be working late today."

"I understand," Sachiko said. Her frown grew more pronounced.

Yamamura and another pretty woman ghosted around the table, serving tea for Sachiko and her mother and serving cold water for Ranma. Then dinner began. Both Sachiko and her mother picked up their silver forks and began eating their salads. Ranma, mindful that she was trying to observe and subsequently absorb every detail she could of Sachiko's home life, mimicked their actions.

Even with the added presence of Sayako, dinner was quieter than the lunches Ranma shared with Yoshino and Shimako, let alone the outright fighting over food with Genma. Sachiko was much more reticent than was typical during the meals Ranma had had with her in the past, and Ranma thought she looked a bit glum.

As they ate their salads, Sayako asked Ranma where she had learned to dance, which she answered by once again explaining that she had only learned it a week ago in Lillian. That transitioned to Sayako asking what Ranma thought about the school thus far, which Ranma answered with some general comments about her enjoying it.

Once the salads had been finished, Yamamura and the other pretty woman cleared away the forks and empty plates. They then brought in some new plates, each containing a hamburger and fries. Once again Sachiko and her mother received one while Ranma received two. Additionally, new silver forks and pristine silver knives were distributed out.

Sachiko and her mother used their forks and knives to cut into the hamburger, and Ranma made sure to imitate them.

During this portion of the meal, Sayako asked about the upcoming festival and what would be happening within it. Ranma mentioned the scripture reading seminar, the newspaper club survey, and the other things she had heard from Yoshino and Shimako the day before. She also expressed her interest in seeing the kendo demonstration and the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group's curry restaurant.

Half-way through eating the hamburgers, after Ranma had finished her first one, Sayako complemented Ranma on her good table manners. Right after she had said that, Sachiko violently coughed into her napkin, and she had to drink some tea to settle herself. For the first time since dinner began, a smile graced Sachiko's face, albeit a wry one.

The hamburger plates and the used forks and knives were once again cleared by Yamamura and the other pretty woman. They then brought out dessert: small apple pies the size of which could be conveniently carried in a single hand. More gleaming silver forks were brought out as well.

At this point of the meal, Sayako talked about her own time in Lillian, back when she had been a teenager. She added in some slight bragging of the accomplishments Sachiko had done over the years, too. Sachiko appeared to be in a better mood than the start of dinner, but she still remained mostly quiet. It was only when Sayako elicited a promise from Ranma to share any interesting gossip about her daughter in school did Sachiko give a half-hearted protest.

Dinner concluded, and Yamamura and the other pretty woman cleared away the final plates and refilled drinks.

Sayako used the moment to turn to her daughter and ask, "It's getting late. Maybe Ranko-chan would like to stay for the evening?"

Sachiko's eyes jerked open ever so slightly. She quickly glanced at Ranma, and then turned back to her mother. She asked, "Tonight?"

"Why yes, of course," Sayako said. She smiled at Ranma and added, "Sachiko-san so rarely has friends over to visit. It might be fun to have a sleep over."

Sachiko turned to Ranma and said, "You can stay. That is, if you'd like to."

Ranma weighed the options in her head. She had learned a great deal of Sachiko's lifestyle already. She could go back to the hidden camp and the cold bedroll within it. She would need to somehow avoid giving away its location, and even its existence, to the Ogasawara family as she did so, though.

The other option was that she could stay in the Ogasawara mansion for the night. This had the benefit of seeing more of how Sachiko lived, but it also carried the risk of having her curse be exposed.

She looked over at Sachiko, and saw her expectantly looking back. That was what tipped it. She hadn't missed how Sachiko had perked up at her mother's suggestion.

"Sure, that sounds like fun," Ranma said.

"Excellent. I shall make arrangements. Do you need to call your father?" Sayako asked.

"No. It'll be fine," Ranma said. He had to expect that Ranma would be visiting the Ogasawara mansion at some point. Besides, she had no way to call him, anyway.

"That's no good. It's not safe for a young lady to be off alone like that," Sayako said. She slightly shook her head as she spoke.

"I can take care of myself," Ranma said.

"She really can," Sachiko said with a nod.

"I see," Sayako said. She stood up. "In that case, I shall have the servants make preparations. Enjoy your evening."

Sachiko stood up as well, as did Ranma.

"Would you like to have a bath?" Sachiko asked.

The offer set off a warning flag in Ranma, causing her skin to prickle in worry. A bath meant hot water, and hot water meant danger.

"No," Ranma said, a bit louder and faster than she had intended to. More naturally, she said, "No. I couldn't."

"It's no trouble at all. It's already prepared. I certainly need to clean up, and I expect you may as well. We were rather vigorous in our earlier exertions," Sachiko said.

Ranma couldn't deny the truth of that statement. She had wiped off her face and arms earlier, but she could still feel the light crust of dried sweat all over her body. Besides, if that was what Sachiko was doing, then that would be what she did as well for the night.

As long as she didn't actually use the hot tub itself, it should be safe enough. She could just use a cold shower to wash away her perspiration, and then be out of the bathroom with Sachiko none the wiser. As long as she didn't actually touch any hot water, it would be fine. She could even have some cold water set aside so, in the event she did accidentally transform, she could quickly transform back in case Sachiko happened to walk in on her for whatever reason.

"I guess I could," Ranma said.

"Okay, it's this way," Sachiko said. She led Ranma through the maze-like mansion once again, going upstairs and ending up in a large antechamber.

The room had some built-in wooden benches with three golden clothes racks beside them. Several towels were stacked on a cabinet on the other side of the room. Ranma could feel the humidity from the hot tub next door.

Sachiko started pulling off her blouse.

That caused Ranma to panic. She had expected to be left alone to clean herself, not jointly bathe with Sachiko. She was supposed to be observing and copying Sachiko, but there was a limit to everything.

If Sachiko were actually in the room, the danger Ranma faced would spike impossibly high. With a second person in the room, the chances of a happenstance splash were far greater, and it didn't matter what precautions Ranma took if Sachiko was looking straight at her when a transformation happened. That wasn't even considering the questions which would be raised if Ranma didn't enter the hot tub at all.

"Wait!" Ranma exclaimed. "What're you doing?"

"I'm getting ready for the furo," Sachiko said, confusion coloring her statement. "Why do you ask?"

"But..."

"It's okay. It's big enough for both of us," Sachiko said.

"But... but..."

Sachiko turned her head to look at Ranma, who fidgeted under her gaze. She said, "Ahh... That's right. You grew up with only your father, didn't you?" She pulled her blouse back on. "You can go first." She gestured with her hand toward the far door. "I'll use it after you." Sachiko then left the room and shut the door behind her.

Ranma leaned back against a wall in relief. That was one problem solved. It still left Ranma on edge, though. The bathroom, like the kitchen, was a major danger zone. No, it was even worse than the kitchen, considering the large tub of hot disaster within it, and the less time she spent near it, the better.

She quickly took off her clothes and rushed into the inner room. Ranma stayed as far away as she could from the expansive hot tub which dominated the area, and she instead took a seat on a small stool in front of one of the three small shower stalls on the near side. She filled a small basin with cold water and placed it to the side, just in case. She then quickly scrubbed herself clean. It was like cleaning in a cold stream, albeit less jolting and more convenient to rinse off her whole body. Once she had finished, she rushed back to the changing room, far away from the hot tub. It was at that point that Ranma finally started to relax. The major crisis was over, and she could towel herself dry in relative safety.

Ranma had just slid her slip back on when the door opened and Sachiko walked in. She was carrying two kimonos. She startled at the sight of Ranma and stopped. She asked, "You're done already? That was fast."

"I guess so," Ranma said. She scratched the back of her head out of reflex.

"Here," Sachiko said. She held out an orange and peach kimono. "I thought you might want a change of clothes."

"Thanks," Ranma said. She hadn't worn a female kimono since training with Fukuyama, but she remembered how it went. She had struggled with it enough that she would not soon forget it.

"Would you like some help?" Sachiko asked. She hung the other kimono, a purple and lavender one, on one of the golden clothes racks.

"Sure," Ranma said. Male kimonos were complicated to don, and female kimonos were even more so.

Once Ranma had completed dressing, Sachiko said, "Okay. You can wait in my room. I'll just be a little while."

The mansion was large, but after having crossed the hallways a few times, Ranma thought she understood where everything was. It was a short walk back to Sachiko's room, and she was satisfied when she opened the door and confirmed that she had not gotten lost.

She took a seat and leaned back against a wall. Ranma then started reciting the upcoming play to herself, varying the voice she used based on which character was supposed to be delivering which line.

Sachiko entered the room partway through Ranma's second recitation. She had dressed in the purple and lavender kimono, and her hair had been twisted up into a bun held set by a large hairpin. Dressed as such, there was an even closer resemblance between her and her mother.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," Sachiko said. "What are you doing?"

"I was practicing the play. Would you like to help?" Ranma asked.

"The play?" Sachiko asked. She crossed the room and took a seat at the table in front of the window. "Why? We both already know it all already."

"I guess," Ranma said. Sachiko was right, though. She had everything memorized, even the lines of all the other characters, and she was satisfied with her presentation. The only thing preventing her from completing her mastery was some final polish with the others.

"Actually, there is something I can use your help with, if you can," Sachiko said.

"What is it?" Ranma asked.

"Remember how I had asked you to apologize to Suguru-san earlier? As he did not come today, I think it would be best if you were to write him an apology letter. We can send it to him and see if that helps," Sachiko said.

"Really? Why bother? If he shows up, then I can just talk to him then, and if he never does, then he doesn't really matter," Ranma said. Kashiwagi had been weak enough that Ranma wasn't sure if he would return for a rematch or if he would just fade away into irrelevant obscurity.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," Sachiko said. "Remember what I said about how it was important to maintain relationships? This is like that, only more so. This is the kind of thing which could ruin the partnership between Lillian and Hanadera, and we must not let that happen. It would be best to mend things before it's too late." Sachiko then averted her eyes to the side of the room and lowered her voice. "Also, he is my fiance. It's intolerable for you two to remain like this."

Just like in the afternoon, Ranma wasn't intrinsically imposed to apologizing, especially if Sachiko wanted her to. She did have a problem, though. She asked, "But what am I supposed to say to him? Sorry you're so weak? Sorry you got caught when you were attacking Onee-sama?"

Sachiko gave a sharp inhalation. "No. Nothing like that." She sighed. "Okay, I can help you write something. The important thing is that nobody did anything wrong. You didn't do anything wrong, but Suguru-san didn't do anything wrong, either. It's just a bad situation."

It took over an hour and five drafts until they managed to create something which Sachiko thought was passable and Ranma thought was acceptable. While they worked, a pretty maid spread out two futons in Sachiko's room and placed a black nightgown upon one of them.

The final product of Ranma's and Sachiko's efforts was a polite, formal missive expressing regret at the circumstances of Ranma's last encounter with Kashiwagi which had resulted in misunderstandings. It was full of indirect, impersonal, non-fault-placing statements of dissatisfaction with the current situation. It ended with an expression of hope for a future reconciliation.

Ranma was mentally exhausted from the effort and gave a large yawn. It contagiously spread to Sachiko, who yawned in response as well.

It was time to go to bed.

Sachiko changed into a white nightgown. Ranma likewise changed, slipping into the black nightgown the maid had brought in earlier. The two of them then slipped into their respective futons.

The fuzzy warm futon on the soft tatami mat had a beguiling soporific effect entirely unlike the cold bedroll back at camp, and Ranma quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Omake:

Sachiko followed Fuuko across the gym. Fuuko had a manic, almost hungry gaze to her, and Sachiko couldn't help but feel a bit put off by it. She did her best to mask her feelings, though. Fuuko, and indeed the entire handicrafts club, was doing a big favor for the Yamayurikai. Accommodating this late casting change was even more of a favor. It would do no good to offend them.

The cluster of six girls they were walking towards were watching their approach with curiosity.

Once they had reached the girls, Fuuko said, "We need to redo the prince's costume."

"What? Why?" Fumiko asked.

Youko had spoken in a conversational voice earlier, and clearly it hadn't been loud enough to be heard over the music this far across the gym.

"The play's only two days from now," Aya said.

"I know," Fuuko said. "But there's been a casting change. The prince will now be played by Sachiko-sama."

The six girls gasped.

"Sachiko-sama's going to play the prince?" Yuka asked. A glint appeared in her eye, not unlike the one in Fuuko's eye, and she squealed. "I want to see it. I want to see it."

"Me too. Me too," Nao said. Her hands had balled into fists, and she shook them in front of her mouth.

"This is will be the greatest challenge and the greatest opportunity for the handicrafts club," Fuuko said, raising her voice. "Can we do it?"

"Yes! For prince Sachiko-sama!" the other six girls of the handicrafts club all shouted unison. All seven of the girls then raised their right fists high into the air. "Ohh!"

That had not been at all the reaction Sachiko had been expecting. It was flattering, but it was also embarrassing in the extreme. She had known that she was the school idol, but she had had no idea that there had been that much interest in her.

It took all of Sachiko's composure to remain calm and impassive. She had already been mercilessly teased by The Three Roses when they had noticed the third-year Fuuko addressing her using the "sama" honorific; she could only imagine the reaction she'd receive from them about this.

As long as she didn't turn to the center of the room, as long as she didn't make eye-contact with anybody, she could pretend that nothing special had happened when The Three Roses inevitably brought it up later.

* * *

Omake:

"I understand. Work hard," Sayako said, playing her role in their kabuki play. Tooru wasn't working. She knew that. He knew that she knew that. However, appearances needed to be maintained, especially in a family like the Ogasawara family.

"I will. Goodbye," Tooru said, completing the exchange. He then hung up the phone.

Sayako hung up the phone as well.

Apparently Tooru would not be joining them for dinner this evening. Undoubtedly he would be in the arms of his waiting mistress before the hour was up. Like father, like son; both of them were certainly in their respective second homes, whiling away the hours with their female companions of choice for the evening.

Sayako didn't have anything to complain about for herself, though. She had known what she was getting into before she had married Tooru. Her father-in-law likewise had only been dedicated to his wife to the extent that honor and public appearances demanded. Tooru had even told her outright what to expect at the start of their relationship.

Tooru was an honorable man, and he was a good man. He simply wasn't a decent man.

She had thought she could live with it. Apparently she could, given their years of marriage and the wonderful daughter that had born of their relationship. In hindsight, though, she really wondered if she had made the correct decision. If she could choose all over again, she really wasn't sure she would make the same choice.

That was her, though. She had made her choice, and that choice was hers to live with.

On the other hand, Sachiko had never made that choice, and Sayako could see how much it gnawed at her daughter every time Tooru was absent. Even worse, she could see the outright pain it caused Sachiko whenever she caught a glimpse of the woman who currently held Tooru's fancy. He was careful, but mistakes happened. As much as plausible excuses and stonewalling could deflect impertinent questions from the outside world, they couldn't really mask the truth, especially from family.

Sayako began her walk to the ballroom to deliver her announcement to Sachiko and Ranko.

Ranko Sugita. Sachiko's new petite soeur. Just the thought of her warmed Sayako's heart. Sayako had been worried that Sachiko had never found a petite soeur of her own. Sayako's relationship to her own soeurs, both grande and petite, had been the most meaningful thing she taken away from Lillian. They were almost as important to her as her biological family.

Sayako's mother's estrangement from her own soeurs was one of her three greatest regrets, and she had made very sure that Sayako would not repeat that mistake; the soeur ceremony was as sacred as a marriage and it should be treated as such. Sayako was glad that she had taken those lessons to heart, too. She was grateful for their continued presence in her life.

So, as the weeks of the new school year had turned into months, Sachiko's not having found a petite soeur of her own had increasingly worried Sayako. Sachiko had a wonderful older sister, mentor, and mother in Mizuno; but she had never found a younger sister, protegee, and daughter of her own. Both of the relationships had been such an important part of Sayako's own life, both within Lillian and after graduating, and she had been saddened by the idea that Sachiko could miss the experiences for herself.

Sachiko had finally found Ranko, though, and the vicarious happiness Sayako felt for her daughter was almost palpable. And, if even half the stories she had already heard of Ranko were true, then Sayako was sure that things would be interesting in the coming years and beyond.

In her own case, to this day, even decades later, Sayako still frequently met with her petite soeur for meals and casual dates. It was much harder to do that in the case of her grande soeur, though, as she had moved to France. However, even with that, they still exchanged regular letters and phone calls. In fact, that was part of the reason why the Ogasawara mansion had such a French flare to it; Sayako had wanted to share something in common with her grande soeur despite the physical distance between them. Coincidentally, the Ogasawara Group did business in several countries, including France, so it all worked out nicely.

A thought struck her as she walked through the hallways. Tooru had some upcoming business in France, as she recalled, and he had expressed some interest in showing Sachiko more of the Ogasawara Group's business. They could make it a family trip. That would definitely be fun, and it had been far too long since she had seen her grande soeur. She would need to bring the idea up to see if things could be properly arranged.

The music from the ballroom grew louder as Sayako approached it. It was set to an appropriate volume, but without the crowd in the room to absorb the sound, the noise managed to echo out into the hallways. It was a stately song in 3/4 time, most likely for a waltz.

Sayako was still wondering about how to break the news of Tooru's absence to Sachiko as she entered the ballroom. No matter how much it upset Sachiko, and it did to the point of visibly impacting her, Sayako couldn't think of a way to soften the message. Tooru was not coming home for dinner. Most likely, he wouldn't be coming home for the evening at all. There was just no way around it.

Inside the ballroom, Sachiko and Ranko were locked arm in arm and moving in a flowing circle around the room, carefree happiness on both of their faces. It was exactly what she had thought Sachiko had been missing. Mizuno was an impeccable grande soeur, and Sachiko had reliable friends such as Rei and Sei. However, none of them could inspire this aspect of joy within Sachiko. It reminded her of her own time in school with her own soeurs.

Watching Sachiko and Ranko sweep around the room without a care in the world brought another idea to Sayako's mind as well. It was true that Tooru, let alone her father-in-law, wouldn't be joining them, but it didn't have to be a quiet dinner for two. It could be a family dinner of a different sort this evening. Besides, it would be rude to not at least offer.

Sayako walked over to the control panel at the side of the room and turned the music off. Sachiko and Ranma slowed to a stop and turned to face her. Given how tired Sachiko looked, they must have been dancing for hours, even if Ranko still looked relatively fresh.

"Will Ranko-chan be joining us for dinner today?" Sayako asked.

* * *

Last Updated: October 22, 2020


	13. New Preparation

Chapter 13: New Preparation

It was with an entirely novel form of confusion that Ranma came to awareness in the morning. Rather than falling through the air or dodging a fist, she was instead sitting in a car. In a sailor dress. Beside Sachiko. Being driven to Lillian.

Technically she had woken up earlier, although she couldn't say for sure exactly how much earlier that had been. She had some foggy memories of eating breakfast with Sachiko and her mother, changing clothes, and being escorted into a car. They were very hazy, though. Without the morning fight against Genma to spike her adrenalin and force her to either pay attention or pay the price, she had more gone through the motions than anything. It was a shame, too. She was sure she had had a great breakfast, but she couldn't remember much of it at all.

In Ranma's lap was her book bag. More interestingly was the lunch box within that book bag. She thought back, but she honestly couldn't remember where she had received it. However, that didn't stop its presence from bringing a smile to her. Its large size caused a visible bulge in the book bag, and even better, added a decidedly pleasant amount of weight to it.

All things considered, it was definitely one of the nicer ways to wake up that she could imagine. The only potential downside she could think of was that curiosity of what the lunch was gnawed at her. It taunted her to pull it out and see what it contained. She refrained, though. If she saw its contents, then the temptation to examine would transform into the temptation to eat, and if she did eat it as a late breakfast snack, then she would not be able to eat it again come lunchtime.

The trip to Lillian ended up taking about the same amount of time as Ranma's and Sachiko's reverse trip had taken the day before on the buses and trains. The traffic in the bright morning sunlight ensured that any time saved from the more direct route were lost due to waiting at red lights. Along the way, the phlegmatic Sachiko seemed to come into more full awareness as well, and she was back to her typical composed and collected self by the time they had arrived.

"Thank you for the ride. Gokigenyou," Sachiko said to Shimono as she exited the car. Ranma parroted her.

Lillian had transformed once again. This was apparent even as Ranma passed under the tall gateway at the front entrance of the school. While the first signs of festival preparation had begun a few days earlier, spontaneously sprouting up like green shoots of flowers in the Spring, now everything was in full blossom of irrepressible activity.

Ranma and Sachiko walked at a pace which was brisk, if not faster, but in comparison to the frenetic energy surrounding them, they were downright sedate. Everywhere girls could be seen running around, carrying objects of various shapes and sizes. Far beyond the pretenses of normalcy, the very precepts of modesty were under siege. Carefully-pressed skirt pleats were disregarded and expertly-tied white neckerchiefs were tossed into disarray, causalities in the frantic battle against the clock.

Approaching the main school building was like approaching the eye of a typhoon. A cacophony of instruction and construction surrounded the building. Booths were materializing along both sides of the nearby walkways. Squads were drilling various actions on the grass. Classes were scrambling to move desks, block windows, construct stands, or do whatever other preparations that needed be done. A visitor would need to be both deaf and blind to not realize that the festival was coming.

Unlike a typhoon, though, in the center of the chaos was even more chaos. The decorative sign near the entrance of the main building, which heretofore had cheerful teased of the upcoming festival, now displayed an oppressive "01." In response to this, a clatter of activity could be heard throughout the whole building. The volume of noise ranged from distinct to loud, but it was constant and omnipresent.

Even the adults weren't immune to this metamorphosis of character. The teachers, typically so easy to see around the halls and the classrooms, were conspicuously missing. The few women who were to be seen all kept their eyes fixed straight forward at eye level, as if trying to avoid seeing as much of the chaos surrounding them as possible.

There wasn't even the semblance of a regular day of classes; they had all been canceled, and the First-year Chrysanthemum Group instead spent the day transforming their classroom into the cafe it was to be. Bottles needed to be labeled. Signs needed to be made. Tables needed to be set. Menus needed to be posted. Decorations needed to be placed. Some girls gravitated to certain jobs, and other girls who were less decisive were assigned tasks by Ami.

As Ranma entered the room, Yoshino was sitting at a desk with a box of toothpicks on one side and a stack of small paper sheets on the other. The sheets all had the words "Eat Me" printed on them, and Yoshino was in the process of taping the sheets onto the toothpicks such that they made miniatures signs.

"Gokigenyou." Ranma turned a chair around and took a seat, such that she sat opposite Yoshino at the desk.

Yoshino looked over at Ranma. "Gokigenyou. You're looking much better today."

"I am?" Ranma asked. She reached over and started taping some miniature signs as well, adding hers to the stack Yoshino was making.

"You were looking a bit down yesterday," Yoshino said. "Did something good happen?"

"I guess so," Ranma said. Now that the issue of trying to get into the Ogasawara mansion had been resolved, she felt much better than she had the day before. The way was clear to continue her training, once she had had a chance to report her success to Genma. It was strange, though. The prospects of finally learning the Umisenken and completing her training didn't leave her nearly as excited as she had expected it would. She was still eager to do it, but there was a trace of something else underneath it tempering her excitement.

"That's good to hear," Yoshino said. "Say, what did you think of the Battle of Awazu we were just learning about? Gozen Tomoe is super cool, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. Fukuyama had constantly extolled her virtues as well. "I heard she's pretty much the Musashi Miyamoto of the naginata."

Ranma and Yoshino passed the time as they worked by speculating on what it would have been like to have lived during the era of the Genpai War, and especially what it would have been like to have been a warrior during that tumultuous era. They further speculated on what it would have been like if somebody like Gozen Tomoe had instead fought in the Sengoku period, or if she had lived in the Edo shogunate. They had some further discussion of how warrior culture had changed throughout the centuries, with Ranma having more to say on the development of fighting techniques and Yoshino having more to say on the evolution of bushido.

Once they had finished their stack of papers and toothpicks, they both moved on to assist with the large construction project in the back of the room. Ami was overseeing the effort to erect a tall brown pillar there and subsequently cover the ceiling with brown paper. The goal was to make the back third of the room look like the underside of a giant table, but things were not going well. The tape failed to stick to the ceiling, and every few minutes, the pillar would fall over. It took a lot of creative thinking and teamwork to eventually rig up something which held, and Ranma joined in with the rest of the class in cheering once they had succeeded.

When lunchtime came around, Ranma and Yoshino escaped from the savagery that was the main school building and made their way to the lone cherry tree behind the primary gym. Even there, the sounds of festival preparation could not be escaped. The banging of hammers on wood assaulted Ranma's ears, but it was much more muted than being in the center of the chaos.

They chatted for a few minutes while they waited. Shimako then arrived, and they quickly spread out the sheet she carried with her.

"You brought your lunch today?" Shimako asked as they set up.

"Kind of," Ranma said. "I got this from Onee-sama's house."

"You did?" Shimako asked.

"Yeah. I ended up staying over there night," Ranma said. She found herself smiling at the memory. Dancing with Sachiko had been fun. Dinner had been delicious. Even writing that apology letter had felt satisfying in the end.

"I see," Yoshino said. Her mouth had a quirk of a smile on it.

The three girls sat around the sheet and started unpacking their respective lunch boxes. It was the moment Ranma had been waiting for, and she was giddy as she was finally able to discover what was inside.

It turned out to be some rice, some salad, some tempura, some eggs, some sausages, some fruit, and some bread. These she freely shared with Yoshino and Shimako, receiving various other things in return. It was less of an imbalanced trade as compared to her own contribution of melon bread the day before. As that only meant that Ranma ended up with even more better food in the end, though, she was far from upset at the outcome.

After they completed their lunch, Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako made their way into the primary gym for the dress rehearsal. They were early, but Youko had emphasized the importance of being punctual such as to not waste any of their limited time on the stage.

The gym was just as much of a madhouse of activity as the rest of the school was. The stage set had developed to the point that it was clearly a living room now, but there were still a great many missing details. The girls from the fine arts club were abuzz with activity, trying their best to fix that. The previously muted sounds of hammering could now be heard in full force as Hisako and Miho fixed some planks next to the living room's window. On the side of the stage, Yukiyou was draping some cloth over the reasonable facsimile of a carriage she had constructed.

In the main area of the gym, Rei was working with a couple of other girls to ferry chairs from a nearby storage room and line them up into neat lines in front of the stage. Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako went over and joined her, speeding up the effort tremendously.

Partway through their work, Sachiko and Youko entered the room. At a glance, Ranma could tell something was wrong. Sachiko seemed distracted as she followed behind Youko; she had a somber and almost pained expression on her face. It caused something of a queasy feeling in Ranma's stomach which she didn't like at all.

Ranma put the chair she was carrying down next in line and split away from Yoshino to approach Sachiko. Closer up, the impression she had received at a distance was more pronounced, as was the unsettled feeling Ranma had.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said.

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said.

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked.

"What do you mean?" Sachiko asked.

"You look kind of.. uwewue..." Ranma said. She let her face go slack and she waved her fingers in front of it.

Sachiko's lips quirked and she asked, "Is it that obvious?" She shook her head and stood up straighter. "It's nothing you need to worry about." She definitely looked more normal now, but Ranma could still feel something was off about her.

"Nah, come on. Tell me. If something's wrong, I'll help you take care of it, no problem," Ranma said. She bounced on her toes.

"Thank you," Sachiko said. She leaned over and adjusted Ranma's neckerchief. "I appreciate your offer, but this is something I'll need to do on my own."

"Okay, but if you change your mind, just let me know," Ranma said. Her mind kept looping through thoughts of how she could help, even though she had no idea what she could do.

"Sachiko-sama!"

The shout filled the whole room. Ranma jerked over at the cry, while Sachiko gracefully turned her whole body to look.

Fuuko was jogging across the gym. She had a certain lethargy to her movements, and her eyes had dark rings under them. Nevertheless, her voice was still enthusiastic as she gasped, "Sachiko-sama, we finished it." She held up a handful of hangers from which draped the prince's costume.

"Thank you," Sachiko said.

Fuuko sighed. She said, "You're very welcome."

"That's everything we need to get started," Youko said, slightly loud from the center of the gym where she had been talking to Sei. "Good job, Fuuko-san."

"Thank you," Fuuko said. She followed behind Sachiko as the Yamayurikai migrated to the dressing room at the side of the stage.

There was a modest amount of jostling in the dressing room as everybody changed clothes. Fuuko helped Sachiko take stock of and subsequently don each article of the prince's costume, much like how Harumi had helped Ranma the day before. It meant that Sachiko was the last one still changing when Ranma left to join the others.

On the stage, the members of the fine arts club were quickly collecting their things and walking off. Most of them made their way to the chairs which had been set up in the main section of the gym, joining Minako who had arrived at some point earlier. However, the removal of the fine arts club members was offset by the more numerous members of the dance club entering, which actually caused the overall number of girls on the stage to increase.

After a few minutes, Sachiko emerged from the dressing room. The cut of her shirt and trousers did much to downplay her feminine attributes, and the long ruffle-breasted jacket and the broad, frilly neckerchief further distracted the eye while looking suitably royal. She had tied her hair back into a more androgynous ponytail, and the overall impression she gave was that of a debonair prince straight out of a fairytale, if closer to the pretty side than to the dashing side. 

Youko noticed Sachiko's arrival, and she sharply clapped twice. She then loudly said to the entire assembly, "Thank you for coming. This is going to be our last rehearsal before the festival tomorrow. We'll be going through the play twice. I'd request that you pay particular attention to the scenes with the prince. After the first run through, we'll take a brief break and review how it went. Then we'll do a second run through before ending for the day. Does anybody have any questions?" Youko waited a few seconds, but no questions were posed. "In that case, members of the dance club should go get changed, and everybody else should take their places."

The first rehearsal went poorly. A pencil worked well enough as an improvised knitting needle, but there was no way to hide the several seconds of awkward pausing at the fog machine's delay. Yoshino also required Harumi to come on stage and show her where to pull down on Ranma's transformation dress. The carriage Ranma was to take to the ballroom required some emergency taping as well, which was convenient in that it took a minute for people to unjam the wheels necessary to transform the living room into the ballroom. At least the dance with Sachiko went flawlessly, even if one of the dancers had tripped and caused a commotion in the background.

Ranma could only imagine what notes Minako was taking.

The second rehearsal went much better. Somebody had run to the Rose Mansion to retrieve the missing knitting needle during the break, the fog machine was triggered much earlier, Yoshino now knew where to pull down on Ranma's dress to complete the transformation, the freshly-sewn seams on the carriage held, and the set transition between the living room and the ballroom happened smoothly. At its conclusion, everybody around the stage shared a general round of congratulations, and there was some vigorous clapping from the makeshift audience who had watched. Youko then dismissed everybody for the evening to allow the fine arts club to return to the stage and finish working on it.

Ranma changed clothes back into her school uniform, and she worked with Yoshino and the others to finish setting up the chairs in the main section of the primary gym. After that, she bid everybody a farewell and left for the evening. She had a real sense of satisfaction with how things were going. The play was in good shape, and she was able to report to Genma the successful completion of her task. The only real thing which concerned her was that Sachiko still appeared to have something bothering her. Ranma was still stuck on the idea of trying to help Sachiko, but the past few hours had provided no new insight into what she could do, either for Sachiko's fear of boys or for this newfound unknown problem, and she continued to ponder them both as she walked. The only conclusion she could come up with, though, was that martial arts problems were much easier to handle.

It felt strange to be walking back to camp so early, with the sun still in the sky. The bright light increased visibility dramatically, and there was a great deal of traffic on the streets. It made it so when she did reach the small temple which held their camp, she actually had to loiter around and act busy for a minute before she found an opening she could use to slip past the bushes and enter the camp unseen. Genma was lounging around on the ground, but he sat up as Ranma approached.

"Where were you last night?" Genma asked, slightly quietly to avoid any undesired attention. The daytime helped in this manner; there was more background noise to mask their talk.

"I was at the Ogasawara mansion."

"You were?" Genma asked. His voice increased in excitement, but not volume. "Of course you were. It took you long enough."

"Yeah, yeah. So what's next?" Ranma asked. By this point, she was thoroughly expecting that Genma would not say. He had already held back so many times before, revealing each new phase of the training like it were another hidden layer of an onion. She wondered exactly how many steps there would ultimately end up being.

"I told you already, one step at a time," Genma said, fulfilling Ranma's expectation. He grabbed a stick and started drawing on the dirt. It was an outline of a building, as if it were a set of blueprints drawn on the ground in front of him. "This is the mansion. Here's the front entrance." He tossed the stick over to Ranma. "Now what's the inside look like?"

Ranma caught the stick, but she didn't move forward. She looked up at Genma and asked, "Wait. How do you know what the Ogasawara mansion looks like?" Far from being a generic rectangle, the building outline detailed every curve and corner of the mansion's exterior walls. Ranma herself wouldn't have been able to draw such an accurate representation; her one visit to the mansion only provided enough memory that she could recognize it for what it was.

"I've been checking the place out, too," Genma said.

"What?"

"This is the first time you've cased a place. Obviously I can't rely on you."

"What?" Ranma repeated. She hadn't been casing the mansion; she had been observing the ineffable aspects of how Sachiko lived. At least, that's what she thought she had been doing. Upon reflection, though, that had just been her own inferences. Genma had only said to get into the Ogasawara mansion, not why.

Pieces started coming together. Details which hadn't quite fit with her theory stood out: The pseudonym Genma had given for both himself and for her. The instructions to not draw undue attention to herself. The emphasis on finding any rich girl to befriend. The importance of getting into the mansion by a certain deadline. And now, the investigations Genma had done on his own. It all suddenly fell into place. This wasn't training for some strange social or verbal martial arts.

"You're going to rob them!"

"Shh..." Genma frantically waved his hands down. "Not so loud. But yeah, we're going to rob them."

"What about the martial arts training?" Ranma asked. She whispered as emphatically as she could. "I thought this was to learn the Umisenken."

"This is martial arts training," Genma said. "The Umisenken is based on the ways of a sneaky thief, and it's the strongest set of martial arts techniques I've ever created. It'll help you survive when you're in most need. It can save your life. Why, after this job, we'll be set for life. That medal you tricked from them was cute, but hardly worth all this trouble."

Ranma felt disoriented. Throughout the years, she had lost count of the number of temples and dojos they had plundered, let alone the more casual thefts of supplies from stores. She had never really given them much thought. It was simply the way of the world.

This somehow felt different, though. She knew Sachiko. She liked Sachiko. How would Sachiko feel when she woke up and found everything in her house gone?

Ranma suspected she knew. She had felt an coagulated breathlessness earlier in the week when Genma had taken that commemorative medallion from her, and she hadn't liked it one bit. That was probably what Sachiko would feel, and even more so. Strangely, the idea of that made Ranma feel even worse than her own loss had.

On the other hand, Genma had claimed this was the strongest set of martial techniques he had ever created, and if there was one thing Genma took seriously, it was martial arts. It was the strongest set of techniques from the strongest martial artist Ranma knew. Far beyond merely mastering just another school, the promise of learning the Umisenken was exhilarating.

She just didn't understand why she felt listless instead.

"Hurry up," Genma said. He poked Ranma with another stick. "Time's passing, and preparing a good heist takes time. Now what did you see?"

At Genma prompting, Ranma pushed past her reluctance and moved to the other side of the drawing on the ground, such that the wall Genma had indicated was the front door was closest to her. This was for martial arts, and she should have been excited. There was no reason to not be excited.

"This is the library. Here's the dining room. I think the servants' rooms are here, but I didn't see them," Ranma said, tentatively sketching out the rooms as she went. It was a messy picture. The scale was inconsistent, and there were numerous blank spots of areas which she hadn't seen. However, within reason, she was sure she had gotten everything right.

After she finished the ground floor, Genma sketched out another outline, and Ranma repeated the process for the upstairs level as well.

"Hmm..." Genma hummed to himself as he stared at the diagrams. "That's a start. Now the most important thing to consider are the people. Who did you see there?"

"There were a lot of people. I saw Onee..Sachiko-sama's mother. There was Yamamura-san and..."

"No," Genma said, interrupting Ranma. "That's not good enough. I need details. Where did you see them? When? What's are their duties? How do they act? What do they look like? The more we know about them, the more successful we'll be. Now start from the beginning. Who did you see?"

The apprehension and lassitude Ranma had had at the start of the description had remained. Indeed it had continued to grow. She had come this far already, though, and she continued onward.

She took the stick still in her hands and pointed at the porte-cochere. "When we arrived, Shimono-san and another woman were sitting here."

"Who's that? What does Shimono-san look like."

"I don't know," Ranma said. She hadn't paid too much attention to him, beyond the facts that she had always driven Sachiko home and that he had always brought dinner with Yamamura. "She's pretty and young." That was the easy part. It seemed like everybody around the Ogasawara mansion was a pretty, young woman. She thought more. "She's about this tall. Wears a uniform. That's about it."

"That's the kind of thing you'll need to pay attention to in the future. A uniform is a huge asset to fitting in to a place and not being noticed, like that getup you are wearing now," Genma said. He negligently flicked his stick towards Ranma's sailor dress. He scoffed. "Did you see her any other times last night?"

"No."

"Okay. How about that other woman?"

What followed was a grueling interrogation of everything Ranma had seen in the Ogasawara mansion. Even though Ranma had been paying particularly close attention on the trip, she had mostly been focused on Sachiko. She could easily account for her movements and her mannerisms, and she even did a decent job with respect to Sachiko's mother. When it came to detailing each of the numerous maids she had seen, though, she had far less success. The only real impression she had was that they were all pretty, but it took numerous questions, plus enduring several pointed insults, before Ranma was finally able to convince Genma that that was the limit of what she had noticed about them.

The conversation only became harder from there. Ranma had only paid scant attention to the decorations around the house. Which statues were silver? Which paintings were in this hallway? How tall were the ceiling? What color were the walls? Were there any patterns on the floors? Ranma only had the most tentative recollections of the details Genma was asking.

They went on for two hours, going through every detail Ranma could think of and more. It was like the opposite of her practices with Sachiko. There, time had blinked by unnoticed. Here, Ranma could feel the passing of every second and the weight of disapproval from Genma every time she said she didn't know something.

Finally, in the end, Genma proceeded to recap everything Ranma had said. It proved his skill once again. He synthesized the hours of interrogation, rambling, hesitant speculation, and tenuous recollection into a succinct ten-minute summary; beneath his lazy exterior, Genma was the smartest and most talented person Ranma knew.

"I guess that's good enough for now," Genma said, once Ranma had confirmed that he had everything correct. "I'll need to plan and prepare. We go tomorrow night."

That was a reminder. There was still tomorrow: another day of class, or rather, the day of the festival. Regardless, it meant that she would see Sachiko, whom apparently she was supposed to be robbing, not to mention everybody else. She asked, "What am I supposed to say to everyone?"

Genma scoffed. "Nothing, obviously. Don't do anything that might tip them off. Just act normal like, but come back as early as you can without raising suspicion. You should get some rest before we go."

"And what about after that? Onee..Sachiko-sama's gonna notice everything's gone, right? What should I do then?"

"What makes you think you'll see her at all after that? We're done here. They only have a fake name to go by," Genma said. He then leaned forward and directed a penetrating glare at Ranma. "You didn't tell them anything else, did you?"

"Of course not," Ranma said.

"Good. Then we'll be gone in two days, and they'll never find us. I got a friend who's waiting for us already. He's got a dojo. We're going to stay with him. He's got some daughters about your age. You'll love it," Genma said. "Now hurry up and get changed. You missed a day of training, and you'll need to catch up."

Ranma slowly changed into a keikogi. She had to fight through the heavy oppression surrounding her, though. The dark and ominous feeling she had had ever since realizing Genma's plan had only continued to grow throughout the hours.

She told herself that it wasn't that different from any of the casual thefts she had done with Genma in the past: sneak in, grab some things, sneak out. It did little to help, though. If anything, it made things even worse.

Nevertheless, it was for a good cause. Not only was she on track to learn the strongest martial arts from the strongest martial artist she had ever known, Genma had said that after tomorrow night, they would be set for life. There was a lot to look forward to. There was a lot to be excited for.

She found herself forcing her mind away from thinking about it.

"What about dinner?" Ranma asked as she stepped out of the tent. The sun had set during their extended interrogation, and she felt it.

"Dinner? Of all the lazy sons in the world, why have I been cursed with..." Genma's rant was interrupted by a loud growl from his own stomach. "Fine, boy. You can grab something on the way."

Genma peeked out through the plants to make sure the area was clear. Ranma did as well, although she was more going through the motions. She just couldn't shake off the bad atmosphere around her, and she just followed behind Genma as he led them out of the camp and to a semi-distant convenience store.

At the store, Ranma took the opportunity to grab some hot water. He hesitated with his hand hovering over some rice balls, though. The image of a devastated Sachiko flashed into his mind. Still, he was hungry, and he had no other choice. Anything Genma had, he would eat himself, and it would have had a similar providence of theft, anyway. It wasn't like Yamamura and Shimono were waiting behind a door with a huge tray of food, or Eriko was about to walk into the conference room with a giant pot of curry.

Ranma did his best to ignore the twinge he felt as he quickly grabbed the rice balls, and then tried to ignore the second twinge he felt as he left the store.

He skirmished through the streets with Genma as they made their way to a nearby park bench to eat. That fight continued into the meal, with Genma launching his first attack to steal a rice ball. Ranma rallied to the defense, but he quickly lost one despite that. He reflexively started trying to steal a piece of bread in return, but his hand hesitated on the way there, and the tepid attack was easily deflected.

Ranma continued to skirmish, as was both expected and needed, but his heart really wasn't into it. He managed to take some bread and his defense wasn't wholly useless, but it was undeniable that he had ended up with noticeably less dinner than was typical. Moreover, the cold rice, bread, fish, and meat tasted ashen in his mouth. There was just no comparison to the past week of dinners with Sachiko and the others.

The rest of the evening was spent fighting through the streets, near the rivers, and wherever their travels happened to take them. Genma did call it off earlier than normal, saying that the following day would be a long one and that they should rest to prepare for it.

Ranma ended the night like he had ended so many other ones in his life: he fell onto his cold bedroll. Despite the extra-intensive training Genma had subjected him to, though, he tossed and turned in his bedroll for a long time before he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Omake:

"Sachiko."

This year was even busier than Sachiko's first year had been, and she was commensurately in more of a hurry. Nevertheless, she stopped and turned around. When somebody called out to you, it was proper to stop and turn to address them. This was even more the case if that somebody was your grande soeur.

"Yes?"

Behind her, Youko was briskly walking forward to catch up to her.

"Do you have a minute?"

"I do," Sachiko said. The next thing on her schedule was the dress rehearsal. She hid it, but she was nervous. She knew all the lines and had practiced them enough with Ranko, but this would still be her first time actually playing the role of the prince for real.

"Good," Youko said. "I wanted to speak to you about Kashiwagi-san."

Sachiko tensed up. Suddenly the rehearsal didn't seem so bad. Her fiance was the last thing she wanted to talk about. The fact that Youko had effectively ambushed her with the topic, so Sachiko had had no time to prepare for it, made it that much worse. She tried to hide her anxiety and frustration.

"Yes?"

"Have you had a chance to speak to your parents about him?"

That was a very personal question. If anybody else had asked, she would have ignored it. This was her grande soeur, though, and not anybody else. Youko wasn't infallible, but she did have Sachiko's best interests at heart. Besides, ignoring a grande soeur simply wasn't done.

"I have not," Sachiko said. It was definitely a sore spot. Despite her words to Suguru, his pleas had had an effect on her already irresolute decision to talk to her parents. Every time she thought about it, her tongue froze up. She wanted to do something, but it was impossible.

Youko frowned a little. She asked, "Why haven't you?"

"It's not that easy," Sachiko said. She loathed to show weakness, even to Youko, but it was something she was working on. "This is really important to my parents. It's not like stopping dance or piano classes. They really want this to work."

It was hard to fully put into words the gravitas of the situation. She knew how much this meant to her parents. They would occasionally make comments about how good a person Suguru was, and how he had recently become the student council president of Hanadera, and wasn't he just the perfect match for Sachiko? They weren't even close to subtle.

Sachiko could see why her parents were so enamored with him, too. In addition to his many achievements and talents, he was also a cousin, and thus would keep the Ogasawara Group closer to the family if he were to take it over.

And her parents wanted it so badly.

"He grabbed you, and who knows what else he would have done if Ranko-chan hadn't stopped him? I know you said he didn't hurt you, but think about it. If this is how he's acting now, imagine what it will be like if you were to marry him." Youko shook her head.

Sachiko could imagine, but that didn't matter. She said, "I shall do my duty as befits the heiress of the Ogasawara Group."

She was sure she could figure out some way to handle things, somehow. And people did change over time. In the worst case, she could just avoid him after they were married. He had even outright said that they could be a marriage in name only, with both of them having their own independent lives from each other. It wasn't at all what Sachiko wanted in a marriage, but it was something she could survive through. Her mother did all the time.

"Would your parents want that kind of life for their daughter?" Youko asked. Her hands gesticulated in front of her as she spoke, as if she could somehow convey her emotions better that way. "Is the Ogasawara name worth so little as to need to settle for somebody like Kashiwagi-san?"

"Settle" wasn't the right word. Suguru was perfect, at least on paper. Handsome. Sophisticated. Cultured. Intelligent. Student council president. In terms of a show marriage, it would have been perfect. Suguru really was correct; if they did marry, and they both had affairs on the side, it really would be convenient.

However, Sachiko wanted more out of her marriage. She wanted somebody she could love, cherish, trust, confide, and share the rest of her life with. And that was assuming Suguru really could be trusted, that he wouldn't abuse his position as her husband.

Sachiko lowered her head, but she did not say anything in response. The worst thing was that she agreed with everything Youko was saying. It just wasn't that easy. Honor and familial piety were of paramount importance, and this was the thing her parents most wanted.

"Just think about it. I only want what's best for you," Youko said.

"Yes, I know," Sachiko said.

Youko had always been like that. Sei and Eriko had called her a busybody, and they were right. It was the thing Sachiko most admired about her. Youko was always so open and direct with everything: what she thought, what she wanted, and what others should do. Youko just did whatever needed to be done.

Sachiko was not Youko, though. She had much more of a natural inclination towards introversion, ruminations, and worrying; she had always had a need to live up to the name of the Ogasawara family. She had progressed a great deal over the past year, with the support of Youko; she could already look back at herself from two years prior with embarrassment and shame, as well as with pride at how far she had come since then. Even so, she was a long way from having the audacity to confront her parents about her arranged marriage to Suguru.

In that way, she was quite envious of Ranko, her unorthodox petite soeur. She reminded Sachiko of Youko, albeit if Youko had been taken to a dramatic extreme. If Youko was direct, and if Sachiko was cloistered, then Ranko was temerity personified. She just barged through everything in life irrespective of reputation, public opinion, and decorum.

Want to disagree with Rosa Chinensis in the middle of a meeting with the entire Yamayurikai? Just tell her she's wrong.

Want to avoid a hounding newspaper girl? Just jump out of a window.

Want to eat seven helpings of curry? Just grab a spoon.

Want to fend off Suguru? Just punch him.

Want to annul an arranged marriage? Just tell your parents.

If only it were that easy.

* * *

Last Updated: September 7, 2020


	14. New Relationship

Chapter 14: New Relationship

Ranma trudged to Lillian.

The promised day had arrived.

This was going to be the day she learned the Umisenken.

It had taken weeks of preparation, but it was finally here. Ranma was full of excitement. Her stomach felt twisted, and a general flavor of foreboding enveloped her.

This was going to be the day she and Genma burgled the Ogasawara mansion.

The night of sleep had taken the sharper edge off of her reluctance, nearing dread, but the constricting weight still pressed upon her, tainting everything it touched with a bleak ambiance. The morning sunlight was dim, the nearby flowers had acquired a grayish tint, and the air surrounding her somehow felt stagnant.

This was going to be the day Ranko Sugita disappeared.

She could finally be done with the daily routine. No more changing into her sailor uniform. No more amiable greetings of "gokigenyou." No more chatting with Yoshino about whatever topic of interest came up. No more delicious shared lunches with Shimako. No more random events The Three Roses happened to arrange. No more exquisitely catered dinners. No more short hours spent with Sachiko.

Ranma sighed.

This was going to be the day of the festival.

Throughout the campus around Lillian, the cumulation of weeks of preparation, and a day of frantic exertions, had proverbially exploded. Stands, mascots, and balloons which heretofore had been glimpsed in passing were now on full display. Even this early, a few girls carried signs saying to visit the test of courage with the Third-year Wisteria Group, and the curry restaurant with the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group, and the martial arts demonstration the judo team was putting on. As time continued, more and more advertisements appeared as well. Girls dressed in armor suggested seeing the upcoming kendo demonstration, and Minako shouted out through a newspaper wrapped as a megaphone while Mami concurrently went around interviewing visitors.

The energy throughout the grounds were as contagious as it was bountiful. Much like during a fight, Ranma let her other concerns get pushed aside in favor of the immediacy of the moment. If this was to be the last day of Ranko Sugita, then she would make the most of it.

Copies of the newspaper were plentiful and readily available around the campus. On the top of its front page was a map of the entire school and a key describing what was at each location. The newspaper club's location had been particularly highlighted, and there was a prominent advertisement on a sidebar: "Who is Lillian's idol? Who is Mr. Lillian? Which soeur pair is the best? You decide! Come vote with the newspaper club!"

Below the fold of the newspaper was a schedule of upcoming events, including locations and a short description of each of them. The Yamayurikai's play of Cinderella was of particular emphasis here, with a note that Sachiko would now be playing the role of the prince and how more details could be found inside.

All of that had to wait until later, though. The first and most important thing was Ranma's work shift in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group's cafe.

There was already a small queue of girls waiting when Ranma arrived at the classroom, and she was barely able to change into her red and black dress before the doors open. The waiting girls quickly filed into the cafe, where they were met by a resounding shout of "Welcome!" from the Ranma and the others.

As the shift went on, the crowd only grew larger. Ranma was definitely the most popular of the servers, too, and she was kept busy the whole time taking orders and ferrying things back and forth between the customers and the back of the classroom. Once, at a customer's request, she said and then subsequently shouted, "Off with her head!" She had no idea what that was about, but it was met with much approval from around the room.

Once Rie had arrived to replace her, Ranma was free to explore the festival. The only other obligation she had was for the Yamayurikai play, but they weren't meeting until half past noon, so she had a few hours to explore the area.

The first place to visit was the kendo demonstration. Along the way, she saw a moderately-sized group of girls in front of the statue of the hooded woman. That caught Ranma's attention, mainly because she spotted Shimako among the crowd. Shimako seemed heavily engaged in the discussion happening there, though, so Ranma left her alone and continued onward.

As she neared the secondary gym, Ranma caught sight of Sachiko. It was a pointed reminder of the upcoming event for the evening, and despite her best efforts, she felt a corresponding spike into her heart. She was torn. She liked spending time with Sachiko, and this would be her last chance. She didn't like the feelings the reminder of the upcoming evening engendered within her, and staying away would ensure she didn't say anything inappropriate.

It was a moot point, though, because Sachiko spotted Ranma at the same time as Ranma had spotted her. She nodded to Ranma and then approached.

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said.

"Gokigenyou."

Sachiko slightly tilted her head and asked, "Is something wrong?"

There was, and that something wrong was Sachiko, just like before. Unlike that previous time, though, Ranma couldn't say anything. Even without Genma's warning, it was just common sense to not say anything to a target prior to perpetuating a burglary.

Ranma put on the best smile she could. She said, "No, nothing's wrong. The festival's really fun, isn't it? Teeheehee."

Sachiko's eyebrows furrowed in response. She said, "It is. What did you have planned to do today?"

Panic gripped Ranma. She immediately wondered, and worried, how could Sachiko have known? Ranma knew she hadn't told Sachiko anything; she herself hadn't even known about Genma's designs until the previous night. Were they at risk? Did they need to be aborted? That last though brought with it a spark of hope.

Still, Ranma had been through enough experiences to know that no good ever came out of confessing. When all else failed, deny everything. She said, "Nothing at all. Teeheehee."

Sachiko's eyebrow furrowed deeper, and a slight frown touched her cheek as well. She asked, "Nothing? I thought you were going to go visit the curry cafe that the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group was running."

Relief, and disappointment, washed through Ranma. She had entirely misunderstood what Sachiko had meant. Sachiko hadn't been asking about the upcoming robbery; she had been asking about Ranma's plans for the festival.

"Oh, that. Right. I mean. I guess. Kind of. Teeheehee," Ranma said. She reflexively scratched the back of her head.

"Anything else?"

"Not really," Ranma said. She had mainly planned to just wander around the hallways and see what she saw.

"Then how about we look around the festival together after the kendo demonstration?" Sachiko asked.

Ranma was once again faced with the dilemma about whether to go with Sachiko or to stay away. She instantly made her decision, though. She was going to make the most of this last day as Ranko Sugita, and she couldn't think of anything she'd rather do than spend it with Sachiko. The only potential danger would be if she accidentally gave some hint of her upcoming nocturnal activities, but avoiding that shouldn't be that difficult.

"Sure," Ranma said as they walked into the secondary gym.

The kendo demonstration proved to be very similar to the demonstration Rei had shown in the welcoming ceremony a few days earlier, albeit more extended and with more girls demonstrating. The main thing that Ranma got out of the show was that most of the club members were amateurs; half of them had obviously-exploitable hesitations in their movements, and Ranma was positive a couple of them were holding their swords too loosely. Disarming, let alone defeating, them in a fight would have been a simple matter.

Once the demonstration ended, Sachiko led Ranma out of the gym and back to the main school building. Apparently the photography exhibit was definitely worth visiting, according to one of Sachiko's classmates. On the way there, though, Ranma heard a crash and a bell ringing out from one of the classrooms. It piqued her curiosity, and she poked her head into the doorway of the First-year Camellia Group classroom. Inside, Hisako was stacking some plastic cups on a table at the far end of the room, and another girl Ranma didn't recognize was picking up a tennis ball which was bouncing around on the ground behind it.

"Welcome!" a third girl near the entrance enthusiastically greeted Ranma and Sachiko. "Come in. Come in. We're doing a ball-tossing game. Roll some dice and test your skill."

"Should we try it?" Sachiko asked.

"Sure," Ranma said.

Sachiko went first. She rolled two huge foam dice on the ground and got a 5. One of the girls led her to a line taped on the ground about one third of the way across the room from the table, and she handed Sachiko two tennis balls. Sachiko tossed the first ball and hit the center of the stack of plastic cups, knocking all six of them down to the ground.

"Winner!" the girls in the room all cheered, and one of them loudly rang a bell.

The girls reset the stand and then it was Ranma's turn. She rolled an 11. Ranma was led to a different line almost all the way across the room.

"Good luck," the girl said, and she handed Ranma the two tennis balls.

Ranma bounced the first ball against the ground, took careful aim, and then pitched it across the room. It hit the bottom center cup dead on, knocking it straight out the back. The other five cups were left precariously stacked up in an inverted-V shape.

"Oh..." several girls said.

"That's unusual," Sachiko said. "Why don't you again?"

Ranma smirked to herself in response. She then took the second ball and more casually tossed it across the room. It smashed into the formation, knocking the remaining cups down.

"Winner!" the girls in the room cheered, and the bell once again rang out.

Ranma and Sachiko left the clamoring of the First-year Camellia Group classroom behind in favor of the clamoring of the hallways as they continued on their way to the photography club exhibition.

Despite the large number of people which filled hallway, Ranma got the distinct impression of familiarity from the area. When they got closer, the reason why became obvious. She had been here before. She hadn't noticed it at the time, but apparently the photography club's room was directly adjacent to the newspaper club's room.

"Sachiko-sama, Ranko-san, gokigenyou. Come in. You should fill out a survey, too." One of the girls in the newspaper club stood by the entrance and was trying to cajole passersby to enter. Ranma had never gotten her name, but she was the other girl who had accompanied Minako on that first interrogation attempt which Ranma had escaped by jumping out of a window.

It was a shocking reminder of how much things had changed since coming to Lillian. Ranma's relationship to the newspaper club was the perfect example of that. At the start, they had been nonentities. Then they had practically assaulted her. Then they had been driven off. Then they had been plaintive towards her. And now they were in something of a detente. She had had more interactions and developments with people over the last two weeks than had happened in months, maybe even years, before.

"No, thank you," Sachiko said.

"Ranko-san, how about you? It will just take a minute."

"No, thank you," Ranma said, following Sachiko's lead. Time was short, and she really didn't care about the newspaper club or their survey at all.

The photography club's room, like practically every other room throughout the building, had been set up in preparation for the festival. The main area of the room was dominated by the photography exhibit. Some partitions had been set up along the walls which divided the area into thematic galleries. By far the largest of these sections was the area dedicated to the Yamayurikai, and within that section, the "Rose Garden" photo was on particularly prominent display.

"That really is a good picture," Sachiko said, observing the photograph of Ranma with Yoshino and Shimako. "Do you often eat lunch together?"

"Yeah. We started a few days ago," Ranma said. Sharing their delicious lunches was one of the highlights of her day. And talking to Yoshino in the morning and afternoon. And the activities with the Yamayurikai. And spending time with Sachiko.

"That sounds like fun. Rei and I don't do anything like that," Sachiko said. "When was it taken?"

Ranma thought back. The day before had been spent in preparation with the festival, so it couldn't have been then. Two days ago had been the day Ranma had finally visited the Ogasawara mansion.

And Ranma sighed, deflating as much in spirit as she did in action. The reminder of the Ogasawara mansion brought with it the reminder of her upcoming robbery. It hit her hard.

She shook herself and tried to put the thoughts of the upcoming evening aside. There was no reason to dwell on it now, when she still had almost the whole day of festivities in front of her.

"I know," Sachiko said abruptly.

Ranma looked up to see Sachiko looking at her intently.

Sachiko asked, "Why don't we go get some lunch? I'm getting hungry, and I was also curious how the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group's restaurant turned out. How about we go there next? My treat."

"Yeah, sure," Ranma said, excited. She could practically taste the curry already.

They left the photography club's room and made their way through the bustling hallways to the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group classroom.

The front of their restaurant had several large signs announcing the acclaim and preferences of the members of the Yamayurikai, and there was a moderate queue of girls there waiting to enter. It took a few minutes, but Ranma and Sachiko were soon seated. The rich smell of curry filled the room, not unlike the ripple of excitement which floated through the air when Ranma and Sachiko entered. Several sidelong glances were sent in Ranma's direction, and she was sure she heard some whispering coming from behind the curtains in the back of the room.

Sachiko ordered the preferred curries for them both. This meant that she ordered one of both of the curries for Ranma. These were brought out in short order, and Ranma was immediately delighted. Not only did she receive two orders of curry, they were heaped up to nearly overflowing. While the server exhibited all the polite decorum that was expected, the whispers in the back of the room had been joined by some titters of laughter. Ranma glanced back and saw several girls were peeking out from around the curtain there, but at her glance, they quickly dodged out of sight.

The curry tasted even better than the samples she had had earlier in the week, and lunch disappeared quickly, Ranma being just behind Sachiko in that regard.

After that, Ranma and Sachiko wandered around the festival a bit more. They saw the exhibitions that the inventions club, the handicrafts club, and the fine arts club had created. They stopped by several of the activities that the different classes had put together, too. They were so distracted that by the time they finally made it to the primary gym for preparations, they were the last two to arrive.

"Where were you? I said we were to meet at half past noon," Youko confronted them as they entered. She was already in her full costume as the queen, including her makeup and the crown.

"Onee-sama, you are acting more like the queen from 'Snow White,'" Sachiko said.

"You have the nerve to say that? When you're late, you should apologize first."

"I'm sorry," Sachiko said. She gave a slight bow.

"That's better. Now hurry up and get changed. We only have an hour left before the play starts."

As Ranma started taking off her school uniform, Yoshino approached her. She had apparently only arrived a few minutes earlier, as she still carried the day dress of Sister C in her hands. She asked, "So where were you two, anyway?"

"Around the festival. We did a ball-tossing game, went to the photography club exhibit, ate some curry, saw the inventions club, and a bunch of other stuff," Ranma said. She looked around for some place to hang her uniform, and then decided to just swap it out on the hanger the transformation dress was hanging from.

"All that? It sounds like you had a lot of fun," Yoshino said.

"Yeah," Ranma said enthusiastically. Not only that, she thought back to the past two weeks and everything that had happened since she had first entered Lillian. She really had had fun. "Yeah. I did," Ranma repeated much more ruefully.

Yoshino tilted her head and her eyes narrowed. She asked, "Is everything okay? Did you get into an argument with Sachiko-sama?"

It was exactly that, insofar as Ranma was about to steal from her and then leave forever. "No, nothing like that," Ranma said. She lightly slapped her cheeks with both her hands and tried to force herself to cheer up. There was no reason to spoil the half-day still remaining with things she could do nothing about. The play was about to happen, too, and it would be a shame to ruin it for everybody else.

There was more of a scramble to prepare for the play than could have been hoped for; beards, shoes, and crowns had somehow been misplaced since the day before and needed to be found. There were also the finishing touches, with Eriko doing Shimako's hair and Sachiko helping Ranma with her makeup.

By the time they had finished preparing, a distinct murmuring could be heard. Ranma chanced a peek around the curtain, and she saw that the gym was filled to capacity. All the chairs were taken, and there was even a line of girls standing in the back.

"One minute to go," Youko said in a quiet whisper. "Places please."

Ranma walked on stage and took a position by the living room window. Yoshino, Shimako, and Eriko took their places just off-stage.

"30 seconds."

The lights in the main section of the gym dimmed.

"10 seconds." Youko then fell silent and counted down with her fingers.

Ranma cast her gaze out the window and to the horizon she could imagine was in the distance.

The curtain pulled open.

Ranma took a deep breath, and declared to the entire gym, "It's good that the rain's stopped..."

There was the introduction of the step-family, the announcement of the ball, the fight, the departure of the step-family, and the appearance of the wizard. The magical transformation went through flawlessly, Ranma using the cover of the smoke to transform her dress, do her hair, and slip on her shoes. The play continued through the ball and Cinderella's meeting with the prince. The dance was more ad hoc than had been scripted, but Ranma trusted in Sachiko's lead, and they made it through without any problems. It went on with the escape scene, and the prince's search. The finale found Sachiko fitting the silver shoe on Ranma's foot, and Cinderella and the prince lived happily ever after.

The gym erupted in applause. At the curtain call, the Yamayurikai had to bow multiple times before the crowd settled enough to wrap things up.

And just like that, the festival drew to a close. A bonfire had been set up in the center of the sports field, and a small collection of girls were playing some music from nearby. An accordion, a harmonica, a violin, and a pianica made for a strange quartet, but the four girls made it work.

Some girls were dancing in a large ring which had formed around the fire. Others were wandering around the area in pairs. Still more were just sitting around and enjoying the atmosphere. All of them were trying to cling to the last bits of revelry and extend them, even as its end was in sight.

Ranma loitered at the edge of the field, doing the same. The day was almost over, and there was nothing left to distract her from the upcoming truth: she was leaving.

Forever.

That was a good thing. She thought it was a good thing. It had to be a good thing. The entire purpose for coming to Lillian in the first place had been to learn the Umisenken, and that goal had finally been achieved. She just couldn't understand why, rather than the joy of success, or even the neutrality of inevitability, she felt resigned.

In a few short hours, Ranma would follow Genma to the Ogasawara mansion and proceed to take everything that happened to catch his fancy, as if they were mere balls of rice in a convenience store. That thought itself was also strange. Until recently, Ranma had never thought twice about taking whatever she needed; it was simply the way the world work. If she had been asked two weeks ago if she was willing to snatch a silver statue in order to learn a martial arts technique, she would have just asked which one. That was before Sachiko had welcomed her with all of her support and companionship.

Ranma didn't have the words to express it, but it felt wrong. It felt profusely wrong. It felt wrong to the point that she was even questioning their casual thefts of convenience stores, something she had done countless times throughout her life.

Still, it was the path she had set on two weeks earlier, even if she hadn't known it at the time. Moreover, it was for a martial arts technique, and that was the most valuable thing in the world. Wasn't it? It had to just be some temporary insanity which was causing her to question it. Two weeks ago, Ranma would have jumped at the offer, and she would still go through with it now. Besides, what else could she do?

"There you are." Sachiko's words interrupted Ranma's ruminations. "Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"I guess so," Ranma said. Genma had told her to return early, but that would mean it was all over. It was just a few hours. The Umisenken could wait a few hours. The fantasy that was Ranko Sugita's life could continue for just a few more hours.

Sachiko led Ranma away from the field and through the quiet school grounds. She came to a stop in front of the statue of the hooded woman near the front of the school.

"Here," Sachiko said. She handed over a small carton. "It's apple juice." Despite her causal words, Ranma thought Sachiko seemed nervous somehow.

Ranma took the carton, and Sachiko tapped her own against the one Ranma held in a toasting gesture.

"To the success of the play," Sachiko said. She was definitely nervous, although Ranma couldn't tell what it was about her that cause her to think that. She certainly looked normal enough.

"Cheers," Ranma said in return, and she stuck her straw into her carton.

"Actually, I was looking for you earlier. With all of the busyness after the play ended, I didn't have a chance to talk to you," Sachiko said.

"It was crazy, wasn't it," Ranma said more than asked. The cleanup after the play had been treated as more of an afterthought, which had resulted in a commotion which was twice as messy and chaotic as the much more complicated but deliberate preparations had been.

Sachiko fell quiet. The silence extended for a few seconds. And then a few more.

"This is a bit awkward to ask," Sachiko said. Now she was fidgeting with her hands, and it was much more obvious that she was nervous. "That is... I'd like you to return my rosary to me."

"What?" Ranma asked. She shook her head. She must have misheard.

"I said, 'I'd like you to return my rosary to me,'" Sachiko said, confirming what Ranma had thought she had heard. "We both know my giving you my rosary was a farce, and I want to end it. I actually wanted to end it for a while now, but with the play going on, that was impossible. Now that it's over, I finally can."

Ranma felt smothered. It was like somebody had stolen her chest, leaving her cold and empty inside. She had to focus just to breath.

She had known that Sachiko had only given her her rosary to get out of playing Cinderella and to avoid her fiance. Even so, Ranma had felt like something had grown between them. She certainly felt something towards Sachiko. She had never imagined that the practices, the dinners, the sleepover, and everything else had just been pragmatic extensions of Sachiko's own selfish request.

Apparently they had been.

"I..." Ranma's stomach cramped, and she felt on the verge of being sick. It was as if she had been punched in the gut, only twice as painful. "I see." Her throat caught, and she had pause to steady her breathing. "I understand."

Ranma reached around her neck and pulled out the physical evidence of the connection between her and Sachiko, worn every day for the past week and a half.

She held it out and dropped into Sachiko's waiting hand.

It was probably for the best, Ranma reasoned to herself, trying to rationalize away the pang inside of her. Ranko Sugita was about to disappear into the night. Ranma Saotome was about to rob Sachiko's house. Severing that loose end had to be a good thing. It had to help the situation somehow.

Even if Ranma still felt horribly wrong about everything.

Ranma turned away. She had to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Not here. Genma had said to return to camp early. That seemed like a good idea. She needed to lie down.

"Wait! No!" Sachiko lunged forward and grabbed Ranma's shoulder. "That's not what I meant."

Ranma turned back around.

"I mean... that came out all wrong." Sachiko shook her head and slumped her shoulders. She said, "I'm sorry. I've completely messed this all up. Let me it try again." She took a deep breath and straightened herself. "As I was saying, my giving you my rosary a week and a half ago was a farce. We both know that. I had no idea who you were back then, and I didn't care. It was merely a gambit I took because I wanted somebody, anybody, to take over my role of Cinderella.

"However, in the days since then, I've come to cherish you and the time I've spent with you. Now, I truly do want you to be my petite soeur, and I want to do this correctly. The soeur ceremony is a sacred ritual which I have abused, but I would like to set that right. So, now that the play is over, now that there are no more ulterior motives confusing the issue, now that we are once again two unconnected people, I wish to ask you...

"May I place this around your neck?"

Sachiko once again held her rosary out in both of her hands towards Ranma.

Despite having worn it around her neck for the past 10 days, Ranma had never really looked at it before. It was a delicate, silver cross, embossed with a rim around the edge so it looked like a cross within a cross. Attached to the top of the pendant was a long chain of beads approximately a meter long, themselves also silver and periodically interspersed with larger beads. It reflected the faint lights of Tokyo around them, sparkling in the autumn night.

It was the most beautiful thing Ranma had ever seen before in her life.

The whiplash of emotions swirled around Ranma. She wasn't being rejected. Rather the reverse.

"Yes."

A few more hours. She still had a few more hours. The magic could continue for just a few more hours.

"Thank you."

Sachiko reached her hands over Ranma's head and once again draped the light cross around Ranma's neck.

Ranma spontaneously jumped forward and engulfed Sachiko in a hug. Sachiko tensed for a moment and then returned the embrace.

The two walked hand-in-hand back to the main gathering in the sports field, and they joined in the festivities there. The brassy, multi-tonal accordion stood out in the ensemble as the strange quartet played "Maria-sama's Soul." Sachiko pulled Ranma forward, and the pair began to dance an improvised waltz. It caught the attention of everybody nearby, although Ranma barely noticed them as she focused on the interplay between her and Sachiko

Hours blinked away.

The fire burned low. The musicians packed away their instruments. The fire burned out. The crowd dispersed.

The festival had finally come to an end.

All of the students dispersed back to whatever place they called home. In Ranma's case, she was leaving for good, back to camp, and then to wherever Genma's friend was. She had no idea where that was, only that it was not here.

The sky was dark, but the ever-present street lights provided enough illumination for Ranma to take the familiar lonely trip along the roads back to the quiet temple. She gave a perfunctory check around for witnesses, not that she expected to see any. Once she had confirmed that the area was empty, she made her way past the vegetation and into the camp.

She was greeted by some soft snoring from the tent. Ranma made her way over there and opened the flap, confirming that Genma was flat on his back on his bedroll.

Genma's quiet snoring stopped, and he cracked his eye open in response to Ranma's intrusion. He said, "There you are. I said to be back hours ago."

"I was busy," Ranma said. She started pulling off her uniform. The weeks of practice made it simple, even in the dimly murky darkness.

Genma scoffed. He said, "Foolish boy. Get some sleep. We're leaving soon." He then turned over and the snoring resumed.

Ranma changed clothes and fell upon her cold bedroll. Traveling with Genma had taught her to take advantage of whatever opportunity presented itself because it was impossible to know what the next day would bring. That slice of jerky could be the last thing to eat for days, and sleep now because tomorrow she may find herself being chased by a wolf.

Still, she had no idea how she was going to get any rest. The festival, and in particular her time with Sachiko in the end, had left her body feeling electric. Meanwhile, the pervasive sense of wrongness endured within her, leaving her mind twitching with even more restless energy than her body had.

The seconds, minutes, and hours trickled by until Genma stirred and stood up. He kicked at Ranma. "Get up, boy. It's time to go."

Dodging away from the kick was trivial; nothing even approaching the semblance of a nap had come close to Ranma.

"Get dressed. I'll explain things as we go," Genma said. He tossed some beige clothes at Ranma, which was subsequently followed by a long, dark jacket. They matched a similar outfit that Genma was wearing. The net effect was that Genma blended in with the evening darkness surrounding them.

Genma did a quick check for spectators and then led Ranma out of the camp and down the streets. He jogged through the night roads with a certainty which made it clear that he knew exactly where he was going.

"The most important part of the Umisenken is to not be noticed. The sneaky thief is the undetected thief. You will need to hide all of your intentions as you act. That's why I couldn't tell you what the end goal was at the start; you'd have given yourself away. That won't work anymore in the future, so you'll need to start practicing suppressing your emotions. If you do this right, you will fade away and be all but invisible to your opponents."

What Genma said made sense to Ranma. Apparently what she was feeling was expected. She tried to suppress the sense of violation within her as she followed behind him. This was what she had been working towards for the past two weeks, and her moment of success was at hand. It was time to leave behind the world of Lillian Private Girls' School and go back to being Ranma Saotome, itinerant martial artist.

In the distance, a clock struck midnight.

* * *

Last Updated: October 22, 2020


	15. New Home

Chapter 15: New Home

"... direct approach, but that's usually the most heavily defended area. People don't protect..."

Ranma literally heard everything Genma said as they jogged through the quiet night streets of Tokyo, but she found it difficult to connect the details together into a comprehensive understanding of the Umisenken. Most of her attention was instead focused on trying to suppress the emotional turmoil within her.

"... you attack. Different targets have different values. It's the difference between a silver statue and..."

Every time she tried to focus on what he was saying, the distraction allowed the feelings enveloping her to escalate from a general constriction to a smothering presence.

"... here."

They vaulted over a tall wall and landed in a forest.

"It's the time for the final preparations," Genma said. He handed over a handkerchief. He then pulled his bandanna off, twisted it around his head, and tied the ends of it under his nose.

Ranma used the offered handkerchief to do likewise. It was an easy matter to tie it around her head in a similar fashion. The net effect was to cover her face around her eyes, somewhat like a domino mask.

"Hold this too," Genma said. He handed a large empty sack to Ranma. "Now come on."

They pushed through the brush and trees until they emerged into the clearing near the side of the Ogasawara mansion. A quick glance around using the reflected ambient light of Tokyo revealed no sentries in sight.

"It's time for the practical demonstration," Genma whispered. "This is the first thing to show you and the foundation of everything else. I told you how hiding your intentions can turn you practically invisible. Now watch carefully."

Genma adopted a slouched position with his arms limply raised in front of him. He then seemed to fade away into the darkness. The natural highlighting and tracking of Genma's presence simply stopped, and Ranma's gaze just slid past him without registering anything there as being important. She could still literally see him, like she could see each of the individual trees behind her, but it required a deliberate and unnatural effort to actually notice him. It was the difference between spotting a man in an empty street versus trying to locate him in a crowded train station, only in this case, the crowd was nothing and everything.

If this was the foundation of the Umisenken, it left little doubt as to why Genma considered this to be the greatest set of techniques he had ever created. Focusing on him required just as much effort as trying to focus on the empty air in front of her, and the distraction would be devastatingly powerful in a fight. Even outside of a fight, it would be easy to use that technique to slip past somebody. If she had known this technique two weeks earlier, Minako would have posed far less of a problem for her.

The reminder of Minako, and especially how Sachiko had helped Ranma with her, slipped through her guard and stabbed at her. Ranma quickly tried to ignore it and move on.

Ranma slouched and tried to emulate the ghost-like posture and presence she had just witnessed. She didn't feel any different, but she kept it up as she crossed the clearing to where she thought Genma had gone.

"That was pathetic. Are you even trying?" Genma whispered. His voice matched his physical presence in that it was hard to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. It seemed to float through the air, being everywhere and nowhere at once. "Just stay quiet once we get inside. It's late enough that everybody should be asleep anyway."

Ranma focused her eyes, and she was sure she did in fact see Genma standing in his strange slouch to the side of a large bank of windows. On the other side of the glass was the ballroom, its size seemingly magnified by the darkness inside.

"This is the next technique: Strike of the Magpie," Genma whispered. His hands flew out, hitting against the edges of the window next to him. With each strike, he pulled back something in his fists. He then tapped the side of the window, and the whole thing tipped out towards him. He caught it and gently leaned it against the side of the wall.

"Come on," Genma whispered.

The obvious deduction made it easier for Ranma to catch Genma climbing through the hole in the wall where the window had previously been. The cold nerves she had felt from before were knotting in her stomach, but she ignored them as best she could as she followed him in. Suppressing emotions was like every other skill, she expected: the first time the technique was tried, it would be imperfect, but with subsequent efforts, she would do better. She hoped that was the case, at least, as she felt sick.

"We're changing environments now. You need to constantly be adapting to match. These dark clothes will stand out inside. Take off your jacket. We'll grab them on the way out. Leave no trace behind," Genma whispered. He took off his own jacket, revealing the beige clothing inside.

Ranma likewise followed suit.

Genma moved along the edges of the ballroom, grabbing the silver statues and lacquer containers there. Throughout this, Ranma's emotions kept whiplashing back and forth. It took a prodigious amount of effort to track and follow him, whereupon her emotions would go wild within her. She would then refocus on subduing her emotions, which would cause her to lose track of where Genma was. And the cycle continued.

The breakthrough came when Genma opened the door to the ballroom. Ranma barely noticed him do it, but the open door itself was obvious to see. She realized it was actually much easier to track the effects of his passage than Genma directly. So while following the beige body of Genma against the beige walls was like trying to trace a wisp of smoke floating away in the air, she could with only a moderate amount of difficulty follow the steady stream of silver and jade objects disappearing along half of the hallway.

"Here."

The trail of absences stopped in front of some paintings.

"Silky Darlings Liberation Strike." Genma's hands punched out and somehow managed to extract a painting without disturbing the surrounding frame at all. He repeated the process for all of the paintings lining half the hallway, which gave Ranma ample opportunity to observe the technique in use, even factoring into account the difficulty of actually watching Genma.

When they reached the study, Genma swapped his half-full sack with Ranma's empty one. He then proceeded to use the "Strike of the Spitting White Snake" to rifle through the desk drawers faster than Ranma had ever seen him move before. His search resulted in him extracting a thick envelope which appeared to be full of yen. He also took two of the books, and rolled up one of the scrolls hanging from a wall.

They double-backed the way they had come from, Genma taking the objects on the previously neglected sides of the hallways, and then climbed the stairs to the upper floor. There, Genma put down his sack and had Ranma do the same, and they jointly sneaked into the different bedrooms. In Sachiko's father's room they took some watches and cufflinks. Sachiko's grandfather's room was much more sparse, being mostly empty both in terms of things to take and of signs of habitation. Sachiko's mother's room, on the other hand, was much more bountiful, and they emerged with handfuls of emeralds, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, and pearls.

Next was Sachiko's room. Inside, Ranma impulsively grabbed the picture of Sachiko and her parents. Genma snatched it out from her hand, though, and replaced it. He whispered, "That's worthless." A silver medallion seemed to appear in Ranma's empty hand. It was very similar to the commemorative medallion Ranma had received earlier in the week. "This is the kind of thing you should be trying to find; it's easy to sell and worth a lot. Now put that in your sack and come on. Time's wasting."

Ranma gingerly placed the medallion into her sack, and was rewarded for her efforts by a stab of sickness in her gut so strong that it caused her to retch. She glanced down at Sachiko, on her warm futon under her fluffy blanket, and whispered, "I'm sorry." It didn't help.

They finished the floor by checking the guest bedrooms and the bathrooms, none of which had anything Genma thought was worth taking. Then they returned back to the ground floor.

The dining room screens were apparently not worth taking, but the large box of silver utensils in the kitchen filled the last of the empty space in their sacks. Finally, they returned back to the ballroom, where they put their dark jackets back on and then exited through the still-open hole in the wall.

Once outside, Genma picked up the window from where he had leaned it against the wall earlier and placed it back in the hole. He had Ranma hold it in place while he performed the "Strike of the Honoring Cat," the name of which causing Ranma to flinch. Genma struck at the sides of the window with his hands again. Once it was done, he had Ranma release the window, which held firm.

"Always cover your tracks. An undetected thief is an unpursued thief," Genma whispered. "It will take them hours to notice anything is wrong, and even longer to figure out how we did it. That's plenty of time for us to get away."

Genma then crept back across the clearing. The lack of evidence of his movements made him harder to track, but Ranma was starting to get more practiced at it, and she was able to follow behind him despite that. Her heavy sack quietly clinked as she moved.

When they reached the trees, Genma stood up straight and dropped his arms. It caused Ranma's eyes to snap back into focus onto him, much to her relief. He removed his bandanna and restored it to its normal position. Ranma took that as her cue to remove her handkerchief and end her own attempts of performing the Umisenken.

"What a haul," Genma said as they jogged through the forest. He was no longer whispering, but he was still talking relatively quietly. "I knew it'd be worth it. This should set us up for some time to come now. You should feel good."

Ranma did her best to take Genma's statement to heart. In truth, she felt anything but.

They reached the wall at the edge of the forest and leaped over it again. The added weight and bulk of their sacks made this effort noticeably more difficult.

"When we get back, we'll take a quick nap, and then move in the morning," Genma said, now fully back to a normal speaking voice. "That friend of mine's just dying to meet you."

Ranma didn't answer. She had hoped that leaving the mansion would have brought to an end the bitter feelings which suffused her, but that had proved to not be the case. They congealed in her stomach, making her feel sluggish and far heavier than the sack in her arms. The fog of oppression swirling around her head and chest was so thick that she found that she didn't even care that she had just learned a once-in-a-lifetime-powerful set of martial arts techniques.

The return trip to camp was definitely much slower than the initial trip to the Ogasawara mansion had been. The large sack Ranma carried was heavier than the traveling pack she had shouldered through China, and it was also much less well organized. She had to juggle the unbalanced mass between her hands in order to have any chance of making progress. Even Genma, despite his substantially larger size, was obviously having a challenge keeping control of all the things he was carrying.

When they reached the temple, as was standard, Genma glanced around and then hopped over the vegetation into camp. Once inside, he dropped his sack on the ground and pulled open the tent flap to enter. Ranma was more hesitant, but she did the same, her sack sliding from her semi-limp fingers onto the ground next to Genma's before she pulled open the tent flap herself.

Genma had already flopped down onto his bedroll and was steadily breathing with a rhythmic inhalation and exhalation. It was impossible to tell if he was sleeping, but if he wasn't, he would be in short order.

Ranma flopped down onto her own cold bedroll and did her best to imitate Genma. Having been caught unprepared countless times in the past, she had learned to always grab whatever she could whenever she could. The morning would bring a fight with Genma at the absolute least, and there was certain to be a lot more, too. Most likely, it would be a long day of travel as they left to go to that unnamed friend's place. Then again, Genma had said it was somewhere in Tokyo, so maybe it wouldn't be that far. Regardless, she was long overdue for some sleep.

Despite her best efforts, though, her mind kept racing. If the disquiet she had felt after the festival could be considered unrest, what she now felt was closer to revolt. Thoughts of her time with Sachiko kept flashing in front of her: how Sachiko had helped her with the newspaper girls, and with her practice, and with her hair, and exactly how many different dinners had she provided?

It wasn't just Sachiko, either. There was her entire time in Lillian. Yoshino's intervention on that first day. The curry feast that the Yellow Rose Family and the Second-year Cherry Blossom Group had provided. Shimako's and Yoshino's generous sharing of their lunches. The plentiful snacks during meetings. The welcoming ceremony. The casual respect of the student body. The camaraderie of the Yamayurikai. Everything at Lillian had been provided freely, no theft needed.

Ranma tossed and turned in her bedroll, but she just could not find a comfortable position.

As she squirmed around, her gaze fell upon the Lillian uniform, still hanging on the far edge of the tent. In the darkness, Ranma could only make out its vague shape, but the glint of the silver rosary was still eye-catching. It made her feel even worse. Sachiko had trusted her, and she had betrayed her.

She had messed up. She knew that now. She had seriously messed up, and she felt just awful about it.

The question was, what could she do about it?

The easiest thing to do would be to sneak back into the mansion and return everything. That was impossible, though. She had no idea the original locations of everything they had taken, and more importantly, she had no illusions of her ability to reproduce the Strike of the Magpie having only seen it once. She simply had no way to sneak into the house.

If she was going to return everything, the only real way to do so would be through a direct confrontation. That was certainly a possibility, but it was equally certainly a terrible idea. There was no way to tell what Sachiko would do when she found out that Ranma had been lying to her this whole time, but it couldn't be good. That wasn't even considering what her parents would do.

The most obvious and the most prudent course of action was to just leave, disappearing into the night like Genma had planned.

That had to be the correct choice. Genma's training had been strange, but clearly there was something to the Umisenken. The demonstration she had seen had been truly awe inspiring. In a fight, turning neigh-invisible was astounding, and that was only the beginning. Hands moving faster than the eye could follow. Objects plucked through the strongest protections. It took only the smallest amount of imagination to see how the other techniques Genma had demonstrated could be made combat applicable. And that was just what she had seen this evening. There were always more advanced forms in every suite of techniques. Who knew what other tricks Genma had hidden up his proverbial sleeve?

All she had to do was to ignore the emotions roiling around inside her. That was hard to do now, but with practice, she was sure she could get there. Indeed, learning how to suppress emotions was one of the key aspects of this training. She was sure that, as time passed, she would become better at it and that the hurt would fade away as she achieved mastery.

It was clearly the correct choice, except for her utter conviction that what she was doing was wrong.

That was the problem she faced. She was torn between the impossible, the terrible, and the wrong.

The whole situation was just so complicated.

Ranma continued to toss and turn. And toss. And turn. And toss. And turn. And toss. And turn.

Sleep continued to evade her, as elusive as Genma had appeared when he had demonstrated the Umisenken.

Ranma gave up the pursuit. She had come to a conclusion. It wasn't what Genma had taught her, but given recent events, Ranma was starting to lose faith in Genma's teachings. There just had to be another way.

She wasn't sure how long she had been tossing around in her bedroll, but it was still dark outside as she sat up. She listened to confirm that Genma was sleeping, and then she crept out of the tent.

Already her breathing didn't feel quite as forced, and the tension in her muscles had started to relax. It gave her the confidence to continue onward.

She reached the side of the tent and picked up the two sacks of stolen goods. They were heavy, but she thought she could manage it. Her first step forward proved her folly, though, as she nearly fell over due to the ungainly masses. There was no way she would be able to carry both sacks at once and move any faster than at a walking pace. She put one sack down and carried the other in her arms as she once again pushed past the bushes and out of the camp.

The second trip to the Ogasawara mansion was just as fast as the trip back had been, but it had a very different character. Much of the bleak ambiance surrounding her had dissipated, replaced by nervousness in equal measure. What would Sachiko say? What would the other members of the household say? What would happen? The only thing she knew for certain was that no matter anything else, the gloom surrounding her had lightened up. If only the knot in her stomach would untie itself, everything would have been great.

She reached the wall of the Ogasawara mansion and went over it again. This time Ranma jogged along the main road which led to the front entrance of the mansion. She reached the front door and then steeled herself. This was the point of no return. Even this far, she could still just turn around and go back. Once she woke everybody up, she would be committed.

"Onee-sama!" Ranma pounded on the door.

She pounded again. "Onee-sama!"

And again.

The door was opened by a bleary-eyed pretty woman dressed in a pink nightgown. She asked, "What's going on? Who are you?"

A man, presumably Mr. Ogasawara given how he matched the photograph in Sachiko's room, appeared at the top of the stairs. He was dressed in some black pajamas. He half-asked and half-shouted, "Do you have any idea what hour it is? What's this all about?"

Sayako appeared at the top of the stairs as well. She was dressed in a black nightgown. She asked, "Ranko-chan?"

Sachiko was right behind her mother. She was dressed in her white nightgown and had a look of surprise and concern on her face. As she hurried down the stairs, she asked, "Ranko?"

"Do you know her?" Mr. Ogasawara asked.

"Onee-sama!" Ranma pushed her way into the house, past the woman in the front, and towards Sachiko.

"Yes. She's Sachiko-san's petite soeur," Sayako said. She and Mr. Ogasawara started walking down the stairs as well.

"Onee-sama. I messed up," Ranma said. She stopped in front of Sachiko.

"What's wrong?" Sachiko asked.

"It's... I..." Ranma stammered. Words failed her, and she resorted to just holding out the sack in her hands. "Here."

Mr. Ogasawara reached out and took the sack, and his hands jerked down as it dropped to the ground from its weight. He knelt down and looked inside.

"What is this?" Mr. Ogasawara asked. He looked up at Ranma, and then back down into the sack. "I don't understand."

Sayako looked over her husband's shoulder. Then her eyes widened. "Is that my necklace?" She reached down and pulled out a silver necklace with a large ruby pendant.

"And that's the statue we bought in France two years ago," Mr. Ogasawara said. His head whipped up to look at an empty table on the side of a nearby hallway, and then back into the sack. He pulled out a silver statue of a ballerina and turned his gaze at Ranma. "What's the meaning of this?"

During the issue with the newspaper club's questionnaire, Sachiko had suggested that giving a clear declaration to all the involved parties was the best way. It had worked then.

"Pops and I, we stole them a few hours ago," Ranma said. Now that she had started, the words spilled out from her like water flooding through a broken dam. "We came in through the ballroom window, and pops started taking things, and he gave me stuff, too, and we went to your rooms, and we took everything, and I'm sorry." The torrent of words Ranma said matched the torrent of feelings rushing through her.

Mr. Ogasawara nodded to the woman by the door, who rushed out of the room.

"And you came to bring it back?" Sachiko asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said, shaking from the emotions she felt. The nervous tension and bitter feelings she had bottled up for the past day exploded out, leaving Ranma a confused jumble. There was nothing to do but endure it and hope to get out on the other side in one piece. Whatever would happen would happen.

Sachiko stepped forward and hugged Ranma. She said, "Shh... it's okay."

"You aren't angry?" Ranma asked.

"I'm furious..." Sachiko said. Ranma flinched. "... but not at you. You did the right thing."

Unlike Genma's commentary earlier in the night, this time Ranma actually did feel like she had done good.

Several footsteps approached. The woman from the door returned with two other unfamiliar, pretty, young women.

Mr. Ogasawara looked up at them and said, "Wake everybody up. Search the whole house. Find out what's been taken and if anything else is unusual. Be sure to check the ballroom windows."

"Yes," the women said, and they scattered to the different rooms.

Mr. Ogasawara stood up again. He looked at Ranma and asked, "Where's your father? We need to call the police."

The prompting reminded Ranma that things weren't over yet. She straightened up out of Sachiko's embrace and rubbed her blurry eyes. She was surprised to see her hands come away wet.

"He's in a small temple," Ranma said.

"A temple?" Sayako asked.

"Yeah. We set up camp in the woods near a small temple, over..." Ranma turned a bit to orient herself, and then pointed in roughly the correct direction, "...that way. From Lillian, you go down the big street. There's a park there you go across. Keep going until you get to this large Shinto temple. After it there's a bridge on the left. Go across it..."

"That's not going to work," Mr. Ogasawara said, shaking his head. "The police are going to need a specific address. Do you know it?"

"No," Ranma said. Much like the Ogasawara mansion, she had never bothered learning the address. Landmarks were far more useful for directions. It wasn't as if the trees in the forest came with numbers on them.

"Then I suppose you had best lead us there," Mr. Ogasawara said. He called down the hallway, "Noto-san!"

The woman who had been summoned earlier walked into view a few seconds later. "Yes?"

Mr. Ogasawara said, "Please ask Shimono-san to go and prepare a car. We shall be departing immediately."

"Yes," Noto said, and she walked away.

"That's right," Ranma said, causing Noto to stop and join the others in looking at her. "We need to hurry. This is only half of the stuff. The other half's back at the camp."

"And hurry," Mr. Ogasawara echoed. Noto nodded and ran.

Ranma already felt dramatically better. The weight of regret which had oppressed her earlier had now completely blown away like so much dust in the wind, and the knot in her stomach had gone a long way towards untying itself as well.

The Ogasawara family grabbed some jackets from a nearby closet. Once slightly better prepared for the chilly autumn night, they all hurried to the porte-cochere. Shimono drove up in a car, and the family poured in. Ranma took the passenger seat in front to give directions.

"Start at Lillian," Ranma said.

Shimono quickly drove to the school. With no hint of any other cars on the road to get in the way, the trip was fast. From there, Ranma directed Shimono along the route to reach the small forest which she had called home for the past two weeks.

Once at the temple, Ranma led the way forward on foot, pushing her way through the vegetation into the camp. She didn't bother trying to hide herself this time.

Inside, Genma was wide awake and was stuffing some things into his traveling pack. He barely looked over at Ranma as he asked, "Where's the other sack, boy? What'd you do with it?"

"You need to give that back," Ranma said, pointing at the sack beside Genma. She heard some rustling behind her, but she emphatically did not turn to check what it was. Her eyes were locked onto Genma, watching his every move. She had been caught off-guard by too many surprise attacks over the years to ever fully trust him.

"I was afraid of this. I thought you could handle it, but I overestimated you. I see that now. You're still too immature," Genma said, shaking his head. "I can fix this. We'll need to practice more, start you with the Yamasenken and ease your way in." Genma reached down and grabbed both his pack and the sack. "This should still be enough to last us a few years at least. Come on. Grab your stuff. It's time to go."

"No."

The quiet declaration filled the nighttime clearing, surprising Ranma. It was so unexpected that it took her a moment to realize.

The voice had been hers.

Genma glowered down at Ranma. "What did you say?"

More loudly and more confidently, Ranma declared, "No! It's always the same, isn't it? Grab and go. It's like those temples, and those villages, and all those stores. I've had it. This isn't right, and I'm not doing it anymore."

"This place is making you soft. You sound like a girl," Genma said. He pulled out a thermos, yanked off the lid, and flung its contents towards Ranma. "Be a man."

Hot water arced through the air, nearly invisible in the dim ambiant light, and soaked Ranma.

Ranma disregarded the transformation and continued to concentrate on Genma. Years of practice had shown that Genma could attack or escape in a matter of moments, and that was even disregarding the newly revealed Umisenken.

"Now grab your pack and let's go. You're wasting my time," Genma said.

"I said, 'no.' This is wrong. Give that back."

Genma sighed and dropped his sack to his side. "I had hoped to do this the easy way, but I guess not." He slid his pack off his shoulders. "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not. This hurts me more than you, but it's for your own good." Genma threw his pack at Ranma's face.

Ranma knocked the pack aside and was already moving to dodge Genma's hidden punch right behind it. He followed up his dodge with a leg sweep, which Genma hopped over and tried to counter by stomping on Ranma with both of his landing feet.

It was like so many other sparring sessions they had had over the years, only with no punches pulled and no quarter given. Early in the fight, the lights around the temple clicked on, but that had no real effect on their battle. Shortly thereafter, a man shouted, "What's going on here?" However, that likewise had no real effect, as neither Ranma nor Genma paid him any attention. To be distracted was to be defeated.

Their fight went back and forth. Ranma received a nasty kick to his thigh and a grazing blow to his temple was made him go cross-eyed for a few seconds. He gave as good as he got, though, with a punch to Genma's ribs and a kick which came close to breaking Genma's arm.

The approach of a faint siren did what the lights and the unknown man's shout could not: it intruded on their fight and forced a reaction. In response, Genma tried to sweep out Ranma's legs. When Ranma was forced to dodge back to avoid it, Genma likewise flipped backwards to land near his pack.

"I don't have time for this. If you want to be stubborn, then have it your way, boy. See how long you last without me," Genma said. He adopted a slouched position and seemed to fade away from view.

If anything, it proved that Ranma had underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Umisenken. He had not foreseen how devastatingly impacting the loss of intentionality was in a fight. He could somewhat see Genma, as elusive as a whisper at the edge of his peripheral vision, but he had no idea if Genma was going to punch, kick, block, feint, jump, or anything else. The loss of that intuitive sense left Ranma bewildered and, as appropriate for a practitioner of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, needing to be prepared to react to absolutely anything at a moment's notice.

Such as the sack of stolen good on the ground seeming to fade away.

Ranma seized the opportunity to desperately lunge forward, and he managed to catch the edge of the sack. They struggled with it for a moment before a loud ripping sound tore through the clearing. Ranma fell backwards, a large swath of heavy cloth in his hands.

Glittering sparkles seemed to fall from the air itself as the trail quickly departed. Then all was silent in the clearing.

The immediate demands of battle had ended, and Ranma's tunnel-vision focus slowly disappeared. The adrenalin pumping through his system drained away, leaving him a familiar mix of hyper and exhausted.

Sachiko approached first, with her parents remaining at the edge of the camp. An elderly man wearing yellow Buddhist robes had joined them, watching from just outside the area.

"Are you really Ranko?" Sachiko asked. Confusion and hesitation permeated her voice.

Ranma looked over to her, for the first time not needing to look up to see her face. It was the moment of truth. He was nervous, but not half as much as when he had knocked on the door of the Ogasawara mansion. That had seemed to turn out okay, he reassured himself.

"No. I'm not," Ranma said. He sighed. "Ranko Sugita doesn't exist. That's just a name pops made up when he got me enrolled in Lillian. My real name's Ranma Saotome."

"But what about..." Sachiko asked. She flicked her hand up and down, gesturing towards Ranma's whole body.

"This? It's a curse. There's these springs in China, called Jusenkyou. If you fall into them, you get cursed to turn into whatever drowned in them whenever you get wet."

"That's impossible," Mr. Ogasawara said. "Are telling me that you fell into a spring, so now you turn into a boy?"

"I'm a..." Ranma reflexively started shouting, but he stopped himself. He knew how Sachiko was afraid of boys, and he could imagine what his own reaction would be if he discovered somebody was really a cat in disguise. It made him shudder. On the other hand, it would be another lie to Sachiko. It was a critical moment, and he no time to truly think through the decision. He could only go with his instinct.

"I'm a guy," Ranma said. He spoke more subdued, even resigned, as compared to his initial exclamation. "I fell into nyannichuan, the spring of drowned girl. Now whenever I get splashed with cold water, I turn into a girl. I think that's where pops got the idea to enroll me in Lillian, so he could find somebody rich to rob. It just happened to be you." The alternative, that Genma had intentionally gotten Ranma cursed for just that purpose, was just too much to consider.

"So that means you're really are a boy then?" Sachiko asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. He reflexively scratched the back of his head. "I'm really a boy. Sorry about that."

Sachiko stared at Ranma in turbulent silence.

"So what are you going to do now, then?" Sayako asked.

Ranma glanced around the clearing and took stock of the situation. Genma had left behind both of their packs when he had fled. That meant that Ranma still had access to all of their gear. With that, he was sure he could figure something out.

"Stay here, I guess, at least for tonight. The tent's still set up and everything. After that, I don't know. I've spent my whole life improvising with pops. It can't be that much harder to do it by myself. I did most of the work, anyway," Ranma said. Finding food in a city without stealing would be difficult. A forest would probably be better. Catching squirrels wasn't that hard, ever since he'd figured out the trick to it.

"No," Sachiko said. Everybody turned to look at her. "Absolutely not. No petite soeur of mine will be treated as such. It is simply unacceptable."

"Well said," Sayako said. "It is entirely right and proper for a grande soeur to provide assistance to her petite soeur in whatever way is needed. Ranma-kun, you can stay with us."

"You don't have to worry about nothing like that," Ranma said. "I mean, it's not like I'm really your petite soeur, am I?"

"What?" Sachiko asked. "Are you're saying you don't care? That everything between us was a lie, too?"

"No! That's not what I meant! It's just..." Ranma gestured down at his body. "I'm not exactly much of a petite soeur, am I?"

"That doesn't matter. What do you want me to do, give you my rosary again?" Sachiko sighed. "Very well." She walked across the clearing and picked up the silver rosary from where it lay fallen on the ground. She then walked back over to Ranma and asked, "Would you do me the honor of accepting my rosary?"

Ranma looked over to Sachiko, anticipation and hope filled his being. He somehow found it difficult to speak, but he managed to force out a thick, stammering, "Yes."

Sachiko reached up to once again drape the rosary carefully around his neck. "It fits you perfectly."

Ranma fingered the pendent in front of him. Despite being covered in dirt, the cross somehow looked even more beautiful than it had back in the school.

"Now do you believe me?" Sachiko asked.

He silently nodded, not trusting his voice at all. For the second time that night, tears were streaming from his eyes.

"Good," Sachiko said.

Sayako's enthusiastic clapping filled the clearing. She was joined a few seconds later by a confused Mr. Ogasawara, and then by an even more confused Buddhist monk standing beside him.

A visible blush came Sachiko's cheeks. She said, "Honestly. Needing to do the soeur ceremony three times. Who's ever heard of such a thing? Seriously." Despite her stern tone of voice, her mouth had taken on a definite smile.

It matched the smile on Ranma's own face. Warm happiness surrounded him.

At the side of the clearing, Sayako's clapping slowed and then quickly stopped. She looked at Sachiko and asked, "Did you say three times?"

Before Sachiko could answer, though, several police officers arrived and started asking some pointed questions. Once the basic situation became clear, they split everybody up to take statements. Ranma's interrogation was particularly long, going through details not only of the recent events but of everything leading up to the robbery. Thereafter, the monk demanded an explanation of his own as well.

Dawn was breaking by the time Ranma was able to rejoin everybody else and return to the Ogasawara mansion. A room had already been prepared for him, and it was a relief when he was able to slide into the futon in the center of it. The result of a sleepless night, and a restless previous night before it, quickly caught up to him, and he was asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.

"... Lunch is being served, if you're interested." A voice drifted in through the door, jolting him to full awareness. 

As far as ways to wake up, the promise of food made up for in anticipation what it lacked in immediacy. Ranma jumped to his feet almost as quickly as if somebody had been falling towards him with an extended elbow. He said, "I'm interested. I'm interested." He paused. A look out the window revealed that it was midday already. "But what about classes?"

"You don't remember? Today's a holiday," Sayako said from outside the door.

"It is?" Ranma asked. Now that he thought about it, he did vaguely remember somebody saying that and encouraging him to sleep in. "Right."

He opened the door and followed behind Sayako to the dining room. Sachiko and Mr. Ogasawara were already seated at the table inside. Ranma did notice a moment of tenseness, maybe even nervousness, from Sachiko when he walked in, but it disappeared so quickly that it could have been his imagination.

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said. He took a seat next to Sachiko. Across from the table, Sayako took a seat next to Mr. Ogasawara.

Yamamura brought out a tray containing four bowls of hearty stew, three of which were half-full and one of which was filled close to the brim. At the sight of the nearly-overflowing bowl placed in front of Ranma, Mr. Ogasawara sent a questioning glance at Sayako. She met that glance with a knowing nod, which was in turn met by a small shrug back from Mr. Ogasawara.

After they had started eating, Mr. Ogasawara looked at Ranma and said, "I would like to learn more about your condition. Things were very hectic last night."

"Sure, I guess," Ranma said. The first bite of the stew made him even happier than the initial sight of it had.

Yamamura brought out two cups and two pots of water, and Ranma used them to demonstrate the transformation time after time. In terms of an actual explanation, though, he wasn't able to provide very much detail. Her experiences over the past several weeks hadn't given him any real insight into it. Hot water turned her into a boy. Cold water turned him into a girl. It really was as simple as that. She knew from the Jusenkyou Guide that the name of the spring he had fallen into was called "nyannichuan," and that a girl had drowned in that spring 1500 years ago in some tragic tale, but that really was all she knew about it. Nevertheless, everybody watched and listened to him with rapt attention.

That included Yamamura. Ranma's transformation while she had been clearing out the first course had caused her to stumble and send some bowls clattering across the room. Thereafter Yamamura continued her work with consummate professionalism, but it was very clear she was focused almost exclusively on Ranma as she brought out and cleaned up the second and third courses.

The steady stream of delightful food kept Ranma thoroughly happy throughout the experience. Regardless, she was relieved once the pots had finally run out of water and the questions had come to an end. Her hair was drenched, and she was getting tired of making the same gesture over and over.

As dessert was being set on the table, Sachiko brought up new topic. She asked, "Have you decided what you're going to do next?"

"No. Actually, I don't even know where to begin," Ranma said. She prided herself on her ability to react to and handle anything, but throughout her life, the one to decide what that anything was had always been Genma. Get moving, there's a master of the yari in Sapporo. Keep jumping, that cliff's not that high. Start swimming, China's that way. The loss of that proverbial guiding star left Ranma lost and without direction.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Sachiko asked.

Ranma froze, spoon of ice cream stuck in her mouth.

It was like the first time she had seen Nao using a rice cooker to cook soup.

A rice cooker was for cooking rice. It was even in the name. It was incredibly unintuitive to connect it together with the idea of making soup, even if it made perfect sense in hindsight once somebody had pointed it out.

Likewise, trying to connect the idea of "wanting something" with herself felt equally unintuitive. Every time she had tried to do so in the past, Genma had quickly disabused her of that folly. Ukyou is holding you back, forget it. Go back into that pit of cats; it's for your own good. Get stronger to eat; in this world the strong always feed on the weak. Sachiko's question left her confused, and she wasn't sure how to process it.

After several seconds, Ranma said, "I don't know."

"There's no rush," Sayako said. "You can stay here while you decide. It'd be good to have a boy around the house for a while." She took another look at Ranma, who had been left a girl at the end of the earlier demonstration, and lightly coughed. "Part-time, at least."

"Thanks," Ranma said. The offer solved an immediate need, but it didn't really address the larger issue she was facing. She would need to spend some time thinking about it when she had the chance. That could wait until later, though, when she didn't have a huge bowl of ice cream in front of her.

As dessert was being cleared away, Mr. Ogasawara said, "We're going back to the temple after this. We need to find everything that was lost last night. Do you want to come?"

"Sure," Ranma said. It seemed only fair to help out. Additionally, it could be a good opportunity to practice her Martial Arts Scavenger Hunting. Genma's departure meant that any further development of her martial arts would be entirely her own responsibility now.

Ranma changed and then joined the small caravan headed to the temple. He rode in a car with Sachiko. Sayako and Mr. Ogasawara rode in another car, while several maids from the mansion joined in a third car. They were met by a few more women and a group of men at the temple. Additionally, of particular interest to Ranma, a table had been set up with numerous drinks and snacks upon it. Even though lunch had just been finished, he grabbed some persimmons and munched on them as everybody was divided into teams and given an area to search.

While Ranma wasn't assigned anything to do, that didn't stop him from joining in. He jumped up to the tall branches of the trees above, causing a shout in his wake, and he leaped around from branch to branch to best survey the area. Whenever he spotted something, be it a silver bangle or a delicious mushroom, he would leap down to retrieve it using an appropriate technique before resuming his aerial search. The first time he did so, the man he landed beside gave out a shriek, but soon everybody grew accustomed to his darting around.

His efforts were energetic, but they were also mundane, not unlike performing a kata. It left him with a lot of time to contemplate things as he bounced from tree to tree to tree to ground to tree to ground to tree to tree, which was good because he needed a lot of time to think. He had some special training to accomplish, and he meant to do it as quickly as possible. The question Sachiko had presented to him of what he wanted seemed like such a simple one, but not having considered it before, it was still a challenge.

There was the obvious answer: he wanted to improve his martial arts. It was what he had been doing for his whole life, and he loved it. It really was the foundation of who he was.

Only, that wasn't it at all. It was absolutely true that he wanted to improve his martial arts, but there had to be more to it than that. After all, he could have just sneaked away into the night with Genma. That would have resulted in his learning the Umisenken, not to mention who knew how many other powerful martial arts techniques? But he hadn't. Why was that?

"Saotome-san! Over here!" a woman shouted out. It had happened a few times during the scavenger hunt whenever somebody got stuck and needed help.

Ranma jumped down to where the woman with the metal detector was calling him. A man and a woman were there yanking at some fronds, trying to get at the bracelet and scroll stuck underneath. Ranma took a more direct approach. He grabbed a nearby branch and used it to smash into the ground, causing the objects to bounce up into the air. He kicked the bracelet high, windmilled around to grab the scroll with his free hand, and then caught the bracelet on its descent. Both of these he handed to the man.

"Thanks."

"Sure," Ranma said. He then leaped back up a tree to continue his search, both for objects and for answers.

Why had he not gone with Genma? Because he had felt terrible about it. Why had he felt terrible? Because what they had been doing was wrong. Why did that matter?

The answer Ranma came to was that really what he most wanted was to be a good person. It was absolutely not the conclusion he had expected to reach, but it was the only one he could think of that made sense.

And he wanted to improve his martial arts. Obviously.

Two final sweeps through the forest revealed nothing new, and it was late in the afternoon when the search party wrapped up. The various complements and admirations offered to Ranma for his work brought a happy smile to his face. He loved having his skill acknowledged, and the sense of accomplishment made it even better. Ranma then sat with Sachiko once again as the small caravan returned to the Ogasawara mansion.

It had been a good day. Ranma had had a fantastic lunch with Sachiko, he got in some good training, the hot tub which had previously taunted and terrified him felt absolutely luxurious, and dinner was imminent. If only he could get in a good sparring session, the day would have been perfect.

That promise of that dinner was what lured Ranma out of the hot tub, and he was soon joined by the others in the dining room.

"Things went much better than I expected. I thought it'd take us two or three days to get everything," Mr. Ogasawara said after they had started the first course. "How'd you do all that?"

"Martial Arts Scavenger Hunting," Ranma said. "I learned it from Tsumugi-sensei in Kyushu."

"Martial Arts Scavenger Hunting? What's that?" Mr. Ogasawara asked.

"It's a school of martial arts based on finding and retrieving things. It's mainly focused on trying to find treasures and obscure items, but it has a lot of crossover utility, too. It's great for gathering food, and with some minor modifications, it's really good for spotting ambushes."

"Is that so?" Mr. Ogasawara asked. "I don't understand it, but I can't argue with its results. We couldn't have done it without you."

"Any time. It was good training," Ranma said.

The reminder of the afternoon also brought to mind the breakthrough that Ranma had achieved during the scavenger hunt. So, as Yamamura was bringing out the second course, Ranma excitedly turned to Sachiko and said, "By the way, I figured out what I want."

"Really?" Sachiko asked. "And what's that?"

"I want to be a good person, and I want to get better at martial arts."

Sachiko's eyes went wide. She said, "Oh."

"That's very unusual to hear from a young person," Sayako said. "That's a very difficult thing to achieve." It was the common refrain Ranma had heard so often before. "It's something people spend their whole lives on and never finish." Next would be the invitation to change his mind. "However, it's a most laudable thing to pursue. I support your decision."

"What?" Ranma asked. That wasn't at all how it was supposed to go.

"Most teenagers are so worried about things like fashion, popularity, and celebrities. Developing righteousness is far more important than all of that. It's so rare for a young person to be so clearheaded," Sayako said. "You have good taste."

"Okay," Ranma said hesitantly. The easy acceptance of his declaration felt weird, but regardless, it did mean that the first step of the special training was done and he was ready for the second one. He turned to Sachiko. "So what's the next step to figuring out what I should do next?"

Sachiko's face took on something of a frown. She said, "That's hard. I was going to say you should do what made sense to get what you want, but how do you do that? I mean, the martial arts is pretty simple. There are lots of dojos around the city. But becoming a good person?" She looked to Sayako and Mr. Ogasawara.

"It seems to me you already know the answer," Sayako said to Sachiko. "Guiding a petite soeur's moral development is also one of the responsibilities of a grande soeur, and you clearly have been doing a good job of it so far."

"But..." Sachiko said. She looked flustered and didn't continue her sentence.

Sayako smiled at Sachiko and nodded. She said, "To begin with, I would think that attending Lillian is an excellent place to learn to be a good person."

"I will remind you that Lillian is a girls' school," Mr. Ogasawara said.

"That's a good point. Then that won't work at all. However, I'm sure we can find another good school for Ranma-kun," Sayako said.

"No. I want to stay with Onee-sama and everybody else." Ranma blinked in surprise at what he had just said. Apparently he wanted more than he had realized. He would need to spend more time re-examining the question of what he wanted later.

Sachiko blushed and smiled slightly, which in turn made Ranma feel happy.

"I see," Sayako said. She shook her head. "I can appreciate wanting to attend Lillian, but I'm afraid to say that I don't see how that's possible. The cost won't be an issue, but throughout its entire history, they've never admitted a boy to the school."

"Well, there's no harm in trying to ask, at least. Is there?" Sachiko asked.

"True, you can always ask," Mr. Ogasawara said. His voice took on the deliberate cadence of a master teaching a student. "Who you plan on asking?"

"The headmistress," Sachiko answered promptly.

"Okay," Mr. Ogasawara said. "And what do you think she'll say when you ask?"

Sachiko went silent, and then she sighed. "She'll say 'no.'"

Mr. Ogasawara nodded. "And why will she say that?"

"Because the rules say that it's a girls' school, and she has no reason to let Ranma in," Sachiko said.

"Right. So then what are you going to do?" Mr. Ogasawara asked.

Sachiko thought for a few seconds. She said, "Give her a reason to let Ranma in."

"Such as?" Mr. Ogasawara asked.

"Such as..." Sachiko said slowly. After a pause, she said, "I don't know."

"Okay," Mr. Ogasawara said. He nodded his head again. "So then what are you going to do?"

Sachiko went quiet again. Several more seconds passed. She then sighed again. "I don't know."

"I know," Ranma said. Sachiko, Sayako, and Mr. Ogasawara all turned to him.

"Really?" Mr. Ogasawara asked. "Go on then."

Ranma had two generic answers to problems, and one of them was a perfect fit. He said. "I'll challenge the headmistress to a duel."

Silence filled the room. Even Yamamura stopped her setting of the third course of dinner to stare at Ranma in surprise and confusion.

"A duel?" Mr. Ogasawara asked. "You mean like a fighting duel?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. It would be a hard fight. As the student council was the strongest fighter among the students, the head of the school would naturally be the strongest fighter of them all. Still, he was more than willing to pit his skills against anybody, even a grandmaster.

"Okay," Mr. Ogasawara said hesitantly. "What will that accomplish?"

"It'll solve everything. I'll make the terms that when I win, she let's me stay in Lillian," Ranma said.

"Why do you... what if... no..." Mr. Ogasawara said. He shook his head. "Never mind. I don't know how you even came up with that idea, so let me just tell you directly that it's a bad one. If you challenge her to a fight, it will do a lot more harm that good."

"Really?" Ranma asked. In his experience, a duel usually solved more problems than it caused. A look around the room to the nodding Sachiko, Sayako, and even Yamamura convinced him that Mr. Ogasawara was probably telling the truth.

"Yes," Mr. Ogasawara said. "So do you have any other ideas?"

Ranma thought. His other generic answer didn't really seem to apply in this situation. This wasn't like trying to learn the Cinderella script, where some special training would resolve the issue. What other problems had he had in recent past? There were the various issues with the newspaper club. There was trying to get into the Ogasawara mansion.

That last thought felt promising. Something about it seemed relevant. Something about quilt-like bread, which didn't make any sense. The bread had been that early meal he had had with Sachiko. Why did that remind him of his problem of getting into the Ogasawara mansion?

He made the connection.

"Maybe ask Yoshino-san for help?" Ranma asked. She had offered to help him with his problems back then, when they had been going to lunch. Hadn't she also said Shimako and the others, too? "And everybody in the Yamayurikai?"

"That is a good idea," Sachiko said. She looked at Mr. Ogasawara. "If it's a formal request from the Yamayurikai, then the headmistress will need to take it seriously."

"Getting other people involved can help, but it can hurt, too. Are you sure they'll support you?" Mr. Ogasawara asked.

Sachiko's face fell, and she said, "I don't know. Onee-sama should help, I hope."

"Yoshino-san will, too, I'm sure," Ranma said. Yoshino had said she wanted to help if she could, and she understood guts and honor. Shimako, Ranma was less sure about. She was nice enough, but Ranma still couldn't quite figure her out.

"As for everybody else, I don't know, but they'll have to be better than the headmistress," Sachiko said.

"Okay," Mr. Ogasawara said. "So then what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to call Onee-sama after dinner and let her know we need to discuss this. We have a meeting tomorrow morning anyway to determine the plans for cleaning up the festival. We can do this along with that," Sachiko said.

"Okay, good," Mr. Ogasawara said. His tone of voice switched from a teaching one to more of a deliberative one as he then turned to Ranma and said, "Now, as for you, seeing how it seems like you will be joining our household, let's figure out what that actually means."

They spent the rest of the dinner discussing exactly that. Longer, even. Even after dessert was cleared away, Yamamura kept refreshing everybody's tea as they went through the various details and living arrangements.

After that had concluded, Sachiko went off to call Youko, and Mr. Ogasawara went to his study. Ranma was the most excited, though. It was time to earn his allowance. A good spar was all that had been missing from his day, and he was looking forward to seeing what Sayako could do. She didn't look like much of a fighter, but Fukuyama had him taught a painful lesson about the dangerous of underestimating a woman dressed in a kimono.

The room Sayako led him to was a strange one for the fight. Everything Ranma and Genma had taken from this room had since been replaced, and the room was full of breakable decorations and furniture. He could only speculate that Sayako's fighting style used the plentiful makeshift weapons.

After they entered, Sayako walked over to a drawer and opened it. She said to Ranma, "I keep some valuable things here. Please don't go into it on your own."

"Sure," Ranma said. He took the opportunity to adopt a ready stance.

Sayako shuffled some things around in the drawer, and Ranma watched her every move to see how she would initiate hostilities. There were a handful of pens in her easy reach, and a quick kick could send a table flying in his direction.

However, Sayako used none of the opportunities near her. She simply stood up and offered over an envelope with both of her hands. "Here you are."

"Huh?" Ranma asked. He stared at the envelope in confusion, hesitant to touch it in case it was poisoned.

"It's your allowance," Sayako said. "We just talked about it."

Ranma scratched his head. He asked, "What about the fight?"

"Fight?" Sayako asked. "What fight?"

"The fight for the allowance," Ranma said.

"I still don't understand what you mean," Sayako said.

"Aren't we supposed to fight before I get the money?" Ranma asked. 

"No. Why would you even think that?" Sayako asked.

"I had to fight pops every day for my allowance," Ranma said.

"I see," Sayako said. She pursed her lips. "That's now how we do things here."

"Okay," Ranma said hesitantly. He carefully took the envelope, keeping a wary eye on Sayako in case this was a trick, and then opened it up. He then forgot all about Sayako and stared inside. He exclaimed, "This much?"

"I suppose it's true that you do eat a lot. How much more were you think of?" Sayako turned back to the drawer.

"More? I don't even know what I'm supposed to do with all this!" The envelope already contained more money than Ranma had ever seen before in his life. He had no idea how anybody could spend that much money. Even considering it was supposed to be a weekly allowance, it was still an insane amount. It was enough to eat ramen, not instant noodles but genuine ramen, for every meal and still have some left over. Maybe. Ramen was tasty.

"Oh, I see," Sayako said. She looked back at Ranma again. "To begin with, you'll need it for your bus and train fare. You can also use it to buy some snacks or anything else you want. Or you can just save it. That's a good habit to get into, too."

Now that she had mentioned it, Ranma remembered that Sachiko had paid for those tickets, plus those snacks the week before. That money had to have come from somewhere.

"Uhh... Thanks." He still felt intimidated.

"You're welcome."

"We're all set," Sachiko said as she walked into the drawing room. "We're scheduled to meet tomorrow morning at 7:30. We should be at the Rose Mansion by 7:00 so we can get everything set up before The Three Roses arrive."

"Then I would suggest you two prepare and then go to bed early tonight. It sounds like tomorrow will be a big day," Sayako said.

Sachiko nodded.

Sayako left the room while Sachiko remained and helped Ranma prepare for the upcoming meeting with the Yamayurikai.

Working on the explanation was tedious, but it was important to get right. Ranma's first attempts ended up in a jumbled mess not much better than what he had explained to the Ogasawara family in what felt like a lifetime ago back in the forest. After much work and rework, though, he finally managed to put together a basic outline which addressed all the salient points with only a minimum amount of rambling.

Unexpectedly, determining what to wear for the event proved to be quite the endeavor, too. Considering he was planning on demonstrating the curse to the Yamayurikai, nothing seemed to quite fit. Literally.

A quick experiment proved that Ranma's size increase when changing from a girl to a boy made wearing his Lillian sailor dress a rather uncomfortable experience. He proposed wearing some street clothes to the meeting, but Sachiko was insistent that that was a very bad idea; supposedly requesting to get the help of a group while simultaneously emphasizing being an outsider was a strategic blunder, and Ranma deferred to her superior expertise. The next idea of wearing the Lillian track suit was quickly discarded as well as it combined the negatives of both previous options, emphasizing being different while simultaneously not having the flexible comfort of casual clothing.

The final conclusion was for Ranma to wear one of Sachiko's substantially larger uniforms. Some quick Martial Arts Tailoring applied to it, to the the amazement of the watching Sachiko and Sayako, had resulted in a sailor dress which fit Ranma's female form with some modest bagginess that could flex out to accommodate her male form as well.

Once all of that had been established, Ranma and Sachiko did one final practice to make sure they hadn't missed anything else obvious. It went cleanly, and they both agreed they were as prepared as they could be.

Despite their efforts for an early night, it was still fairly late when they were finally able to retire for the night. Ranma returned to his room and slid into the plush futon which had been prepared for him. The voluptuous warmth surrounded him as pondered further what he wanted to do before gently drifting to sleep.

* * *

Last Updated: October 22, 2020


	16. New Introduction

Chapter 16: New Introduction

After a breakfast which was every bit as plentiful and delicious as Ranma had come to expect from the Ogasawara mansion, Sachiko showed her the way to Lillian. This was both in terms of physical directions, which Ranma had already mostly known from the reverse trip the previous week, and in terms of process, which was more novel. Buying a commuter pass wasn't difficult, especially with Sachiko helping remind her of the address of the Ogasawara mansion, but it was much more expensive than she had expected; apparently the prodigious sum of money Sayako had given her the previous evening wasn't nearly as preposterous as she had initial thought.

Lillian's campus still showed the echoes of the recent festival. Anything not expected to directly interfere with school life had been abandoned in place. Limp balloons hovered near the ground, and signs still advertised shops which had since closed forever. It would take several days of hard work to clean everything up and restore the school back to normal.

The early hour meant that the school grounds were basically empty. The only movement Ranma saw was the gentle swaying of the trees in the breeze. Even the statue of the hooded woman had nobody nearby for once. Nevertheless, Sachiko stopped in front of it, folded her hands together, and closed her eyes. She paused there for several seconds before opening her eyes again.

Ranma had seen countless girls doing the same thing over the past two weeks, and it seemed as good a time as any to finally find out what they had been doing. As Sachiko was stepping away from the statue, Ranma asked her, "What were you doing just now?"

"I was praying to Maria-sama."

"Praying? What's that?"

Sachiko's eyes raised a fraction. She asked, "You don't know? Didn't you say you had visited numerous temples during your training trip?"

"Yeah, but mainly for martial arts stuff," Ranma said. If it wasn't a technique they could copy, food they could consume, or trinkets they could purloin, they had never had much interest in anything in a temple.

"I see," Sachiko said. "I was asking Maria-sama for her help with what was to come today. She watches over this school, and she provides guidance and assistance to us all." Sachiko made a small gesture towards the statue. "Would you like to try?"

"Sure," Ranma said with a shrug. The upcoming meeting seemed intimidating enough that she wouldn't mind getting some help. "What do I do?"

"For now, let's keep it simple. You fold your hands together like this," Sachiko said, demonstrating for Ranma. "Then reach out to Maria-sama with your heart and ask for what you most want."

Ranma had had some time to think about what she had wanted over the past day and night. She folded her hands together and reached out.

She wanted to be a good person.

She wanted to improve her martial arts.

She wanted to stay with Sachiko and the others.

And would it be too much to want the lunch in her book bag to be good? She wasn't sure how greedy she was allowed to be.

"Are you done?" Sachiko asked after a while.

"I don't know. Is something supposed to happen?" Ranma asked. As best she could tell, everything was identical to how it had been before she had started.

"Sometimes I'll get a revelation or something big will happen, but usually it's more the feeling that Maria-sama is watching that helps," Sachiko said.

"Then I guess so," Ranma said. She wasn't exactly sure what her prayer was supposed to accomplish, but that feeling of non-comprehension when learning something new was one she was very familiar with from all her years of learning new schools of martial arts.

"Then shall we go?" Sachiko asked.

"Sure," Ranma said.

They continued their walk to the Rose Mansion. It was empty, as was expected, and the two went about preparing for the upcoming meeting and demonstration.

The electric teakettle on the side table had just started to steam when Youko arrived. In addition to her book bag, she had another large bag with her. Upon entering the conference room, though, both of these slid from her limp fingers and flopped to the ground.

"Ranko-chan? What happened?" Youko exclaimed in voice which couldn't decide if it wanted to be startled, alarmed, or panicked. She rushed forward, both bags left behind in her haste.

Ranma looked down at herself, worried that she had somehow transformed, or something worse. Everything seemed to be in order, though. She asked, "What do you mean?"

"Your face," Youko said. She gently brushed her hand forward, almost but not quite touching Ranma's temple. "How did that happen?"

"Oh, this?" Ranma asked. She pointed at where Genma had grazed her. "Yeah, pops got me good, didn't he? I really only have myself to blame." In hindsight, the shift of his weight had been a clear signal that she should have dodged left, not right.

"What?" Youko exclaimed, her voice a mixture of shock and outrage. "Your father did this to you?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. She wasn't sure why Youko sounded so surprised. Genma had always been the better fighter. It was why he was the master, not Ranma. If anything, she was surprised at how well she had managed to hold him off.

"I can see why Sachiko said this was an emergency," Youko said. She grabbed Ranma's wrist. "We need to go to the police right now."

"Onee-sama," Sachiko said. She looked pained. "It's not what you're thinking. I know it looks bad, but there's more to it than that. I think it'd be better if we talked to everybody before we did anything hasty."

"What's there to talk about? Look at her," Youko said.

"I know, but please, can we just wait for everybody to arrive first?" Sachiko asked. "It's very important. I promise."

Youko hesitated, looking back and forth between Sachiko and Ranma, but in the end, she let go of Ranma's wrist. She said, "If you're sure." She cast another glance at Ranma and then walked back to where she had dropped her bags. She dusted off the bottom of the cup of pudding that had bounced out of the large bag and replaced it inside. She then brought both bags over to the side table where the electric teakettle and tea service were. She started emptying the large bag there, placing snacks in carefully arranged sets. Even as she did so, her gaze kept flicking over to look at Ranma.

Shimako walked in next. She said, "Gokigen..." She trailed off as she saw Ranma.

"Gokigenyou." Ranma was the only one who responded. Despite that, Shimako looked towards Sachiko and Youko.

Youko shook her head back. She said, "We're going to talk about it."

"Okay," Shimako said. She sounded hesitant, but she walked over to the large table and took a seat. As she moved, she kept glancing over at Ranma.

"Now that I think about it, we should probably do something about your face before we scare everybody in the school," Sachiko said. She reached down and picked up her book bag.

"Scare everybody? What's the big deal? It's just a bruise," Ranma said. It was nowhere close to the worst one she had ever had. It wasn't even in a particularly sensitive place. She really didn't understand why everybody was reacting to it so much. A grazing blow to the head was a very common occurrence.

"That's not 'just' a bruise," Sachiko said.

"Yeah, it is. It's not like it's on my hands or my feet or anything. It's nothing worth whining about," Ranma said.

Sachiko and Youko both visibly winced. Shimako appeared concerned as well, even if she didn't react as visibly as the other two.

"It's not fair to call that 'whining.' It's very legitimate to complain about an injury like that," Sachiko said. She pulled a compact, a tube of liquid foundation, another tube of light brown concealer, and a puff out from her book bag.

"Injury? This isn't an injury," Ranma said. "It'll go away in a few days. If you can still punch and kick, then there's nothing to complain about. Everything else is just whining."

"That's terrible. I don't see how anybody could have survived growing up like that. At least it's over now," Sachiko said. She stood up and walked over to stand by a window. "Why don't you come over here where the light's better?"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating things?" Ranma asked. The fight with Genma had been a hard-pressed one, but the worst thing that could have happened was she break a few bones or get knocked unconscious. It was a far cry from wrestling with that bear or dodging those snakes, let alone the pit of cats.

Ranma stood up and walked over join Sachiko. She took the long way around the table, taking great pains to avoid the steaming electric kettle along the shorter route. It was so annoying that that was where all the snacks were, too. She wanted some, but didn't want to risk the nearby hot water.

"I think that bruise says otherwise. Sorry. This might hurt a bit," Sachiko said. She dabbed some liquid foundation onto her fingers and lightly caressed them to Ranma's temple. Even against the sensitive bruise, Sachiko's soft touch felt like a velvet cloud.

Part-way through Sachiko's efforts of disguising, Ranma caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw Rei entering the room. Her motion caused Sachiko to land her puff squarely into Ranma's hair.

Sachiko gave small sound of annoyance and said, "Please don't move." She slid her puff off of her fingers and used her freed-hand to dust off Ranma's hair.

"What's going on in here?" Rei asked. She walked over to the large table and placed her book bag next to one of the chairs.

"Sachiko is helping Ranko-chan with some makeup," Youko said.

"Oh, really? That's nice," Rei said.

"Not really. Apparently something happened between her and her father," Youko said.

"Something happened?" Rei asked. Concurrently, Shimako exclaimed, "Her father?"

Rei took a closer look at Ranma, and then she blanched upon that closer look. She asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Youko said. "Sachiko thinks it's best to wait for everybody to arrive so she can tell everybody at once."

"Okay," Rei said slowly. She sat down heavily in her chair.

Sachiko took hold of Ranma's chin and turned her to a slight angle once again. She then resumed her powdering. A short while later, Sachiko said, "Done." She snapped her compact shut and removed her puff from her fingers.

"That's it? No color-correction?" Ranma asked. Trying to disguise a bruise like hers without color-correcting the dark reddish-purple would have earned her a lash from Kondou. She didn't even need to see it in a mirror to know that it would never escape the notice of an attentive guard.

"What do you mean?" Sachiko asked.

"I'll need some greenish-yellow to fully disguise this dark spot," Ranma said. She pointed at the area Sachiko had covered. "Do you have any concealer like that?"

"No, I don't," Sachiko said.

Ranma looked over at the others in the room. Shimako, Youko, and Rei were staring at her, their faces a mixture of confusion, curiosity, and concern. All of them shook their heads back at her.

That was unfortunate. Luckily, Ranma was a master at improvisation.

"How about anything green or yellow? Eyeshadow? Lipstick?" Ranma asked. Neither of them would be as good as concealer, but their touch of color would still help a great deal.

"Not those colors," Sachiko said.

Ranma took another look at Shimako, Youko, and Rei. They shook their heads back again.

She then cast her gaze around the room at large, searching for chalk or anything else which could possibly suit as a stand-in. Nothing obvious sprung to her attention, though.

"Can we wear hats here?" Ranma asked.

"Why do you ask?" Sachiko asked.

"If people are expecting to see a shadow, then they'll be less likely to notice a dark area on my head," Ranma said. The would-be shadow wouldn't always be in the right place, but every little bit helped when crafting a disguise.

"I see," Sachiko said. "No, hats aren't an allowed part of the uniform."

"Okay," Ranma said. There was another option. She hated doing anything with her dragon whisker, due to the inherent risk every time she touched it, but as long as she kept close attention as she moved it, it should be safe.

She looked down at herself to make absolutely sure she was a girl, and then she reached up and untied her pigtail. She kept a tight grip the whisker as she shook out her braid and tilted her head to the side. She then re-braided her hair such that it obscured the side of her face. Finally, she re-bound her hair with the dragon whisker, being very sure to tie it securely.

It wasn't as good as proper makeup, but the visual distraction and obfuscation of the hair should help a great deal.

"Oh. That looks... good..." Sachiko said.

"At least your bruise isn't looking so obvious anymore," Youko said.

Sachiko picked up her tools and started walking back to her seat. She looked over towards Rei as she did so and asked, "Is Yoshino-chan not coming today?"

Rei visibly forced her gaze away from Ranma to address Sachiko. She said, "No. Yesterday wasn't so good. I didn't even tell her about the emergency meeting. I thought it would just make things worse."

"Her heart?" Sachiko asked as she sat down and put her tools away into her book bag.

"That's right," Rei said.

"Her heart? What about her heart?" Ranma asked, suddenly much more concerned about Yoshino than her own situation.

"Her heart's been weak ever since she was born. Normally it's manageable, but when she overdoes things, it causes her problems. I'm always telling her to take it easy, but she never does." Rei clenched her fists in front of her, and her whole body likewise tensed up.

"Oh," Ranma said. She gave a sigh and sat down as heavily as Rei had earlier. At least that explained how Yoshino could be so enthusiastic about the culture and theory of martial arts, not to mention samurai and sports and everything else, while simultaneously being so divorced from its practice. Ranma couldn't imagine how frustrating that would be.

"It's nothing to worry about. She should be better in a week or two," Rei said. She forced her hands open.

"How unfortunate. I was hoping she'd be here today so we could have the whole Yamayurikai for this," Sachiko said.

"I can tell her later. I'm sure she'll support whatever we do," Rei said.

"It's not quite that easy," Sachiko said.

The room lapsed into a stiff silence. Ranma was trying to mentally rehearse the explanation she had put together with Sachiko the night before, but she found her thoughts drifting to Yoshino's heart condition instead. Everybody else seemed tense as well. The only real movement was from Shimako, who had unwrapped her rosary from around her wrist and was deliberately pulling it between her thumb and fingers one bead at a time.

"Gokigenyou." Eriko's arrival changed all that. She wasn't perky by any stretch, but her relatively ordinary greeting felt that way compared to the weight permeating the room.

"Gokigenyou."

"New hairstyle? It looks exciting," Eriko said. She walked over and took a cup of pudding from the side table. As she did so, she asked, "So what's this emergency we need to discuss?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Youko said. "Sachiko called me last night and said we had to meet about something. It seems to have something to do with Ranko-chan and her father, but that's all I know."

Eriko glanced over at Ranma again. Her eyes squinted as she took a closer look. They then quickly grew wide.

Youko nodded and said, "That's apparently what this meeting is going to be about."

"I see," Eriko said. She sat down and put the cup of pudding on the table in front of her, but she didn't open it.

Sei's arrival signaled the end of the oppressive prelude permeating the room. She took a seat next to Youko, greeting and being greeted by the others in the room. Commensurately, the light anticipation Ranma had felt earlier spiked up substantially to become outright anxiety. It manifested as a steady increase of pressure upon her, until it was almost like she could hear a rush of static in her ears.

Youko looked around the table and said, "Thank you all for coming early today. Sachiko called me last night and said there was an emergency situation which we needed to discuss."

Shimako stopped fidgeting with her rosary and wrapped it around her wrist once again. Rei took a seat from where she had been giving Eriko a cup of tea. All three of those girls, as well as Youko, were all focused on Ranma.

Youko continued, "It appears to pertain to Ranko-chan and her situation,"

That caused Sei to flick her eyes over at Ranma. Much like Eriko before, she glanced, peered closely, and then her eyes widened in surprise.

Youko turned to Sachiko and said, "I believe you have kept us all in suspense for long enough."

"Yes," Sachiko said. She stood up, as did Ranma, and they both walked over to the side of the room. Everybody turned to follow them. "Thank you for coming. I would ask you to try to keep an open mind as you listen. This whole thing does seem quite unbelievable. Onee-sama is correct that this is in regard to Ranko's situation, but that is incorrect as well. I could say more, but I feel it would be better if Ranma were to explain things in his own words."

Youko and the others looked around the room in confusion, trying to spot the person they had somehow missed. After a few seconds, Youko looked back at Sachiko and asked, "Ranma? Who's that?"

Ranma's heart leaped into her throat. Even though she had been expecting it, the moment of crisis always had an explosive jolt that simply could not be repressed.

It was time.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"I'm Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

"What?" Sei asked. She turned her head to look at Youko and Eriko, but they met her confused look with confused looks of their own. They turned back to look at Ranma.

"That's my real name. 'Ranko Sugita' is just something my pops made up when he enrolled me in Lillian," Ranma said. As she spoke, she frantically tried to remember what was supposed to come next. She had to talk about the curse, and her fight with Genma, and robbing from Sachiko, and wanting to stay in Lillian. Was that the order? It had seemed so much clearer the night before.

"Really?" Youko asked. "That's very strange. Why did he do that?"

That prompt decided it. Apparently the next topic was going to be the robbery.

"I was sort of supposed to rob Onee-sama's house two days ago," Ranma said. Her hand reflexively scratched the back of her head as she spoke.

"You what?!" It was hard to tell exactly who had participated in the combined shout, but it was most of the girls in the room.

"It's fine. It's fine," Sachiko said. She made a placating gesture with her hands.

"My pops was trying to rob some 'rich girl' here, and had me attend to order find somebody good. It just happened to be Onee-sama. After the festival, we broke into her house and stole a bunch of her stuff. But... uhh... I sort of changed my mind. I never really thought about it much before coming here, but stealing all that stuff is wrong. I brought it all back and... uhh... I was sort of hoping I could stay," Ranma said.

"Okay..." Youko said, extending the word out, "that is quite an emergency. I can see why you wanted to talk."

"The truth is that that's not quite the emergency. Not all of it, at least," Sachiko said.

"I was wondering when you were going to explain... that..." Eriko said. She gestured to her temple.

"This?" Ranma asked. She pointed at her own temple as well. "What's there to explain? I got into a fight with pops."

"Not that kind of fight," Sachiko quickly said. "A fight fight." She pantomimed some small punches. They were laughably wrong. "They got into this crazy martial arts battle, and in the end, Saotome-san ran away."

"Then where will Ranko-chan... No. Sorry. Ranma-san?" Youko felt out how the name tasted in her mouth. "Where will Ranma-san be living?"

"Ranma," Sachiko said, emphasizing the name and the lack of honorific attached to it, "will be living with me."

Youko's eyes widened fractionally. She said, "I see. Still, I don't understand why you think that makes the emergency worse. If anything, it makes things easier, doesn't it?"

Sachiko said, "That's because that's not what I meant about the real emergency. Please pay attention, because this is the part that is the most unbelievable. Ranma?"

They had talked about the robbery. They had talked about the fight. They had talked about Ranko Sugita. They had talked about wanting to stay. There was only one thing left: the big thing.

Ranma took another deep breath. She then said, "The truth is, I'm really a boy."

Five pairs of eyes flicked down to look at her chest.

Sei's eyebrows raised and she asked, "A boy?"

"Yes. A boy. Here, I'll show you," Ranma said. She turned to the side table and saw that Sachiko was already holding out a cup to her. Ranma took it and poured its contents over her free hand.

Those same five pairs of eyes staring at him grew wide. If Sachiko's announcement that she had found a petite soeur was a heavy footstep, and if Sachiko's declaration that Kashiwagi was her fiance was a slammed door, then this was an outright earthquake. Ieyasu Tokugawa rising up from his tomb and declaring the restoration of samurai rule couldn't have had more of an effect. Everybody in the room held their breath in stunned anticipation, waiting to see what the aftermath would be.

"Oh..." Sei said flatly. "Boy..."

That was the trigger which broke the long, protracted silence.

"What? How?" The surprise was evident in Eriko's voice as she shouted. "What is this?"

"It's a curse. Cold water turns me into a girl," Ranma said. He poured some of the cold water in the second cup Sachiko offered over his hand to demonstrate. "Hot water turns me back into a boy."

"I see," Youko said. She took a deep breath. "It appears that there's a lot more to you than we've been led to believe." Her voice remained calm and steady. "Why don't you tell us about it?"

"Like what?" Ranma asked.

"Everything. Like what you were doing before you came to Lillian, and where you got this curse," Youko said. She took a sip of tea from her cup. If her hand hadn't been shaking, she might even have appeared as calm as she sounded.

Ranma said, "I'm not sure how much there is to say. I've been traveling with pops for as long as I can remember. We went all across Japan, training in martial arts. We'd visit schools, temples, dojos, and wherever to learn any techniques they had. When we ran out of places in Japan, he took me to China. That's where I got this curse. We just got back to Japan when he brought me here."

"So your jumping out that window?" Sei asked. The other girls around the table nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, like that. I've been doing that kind of stuff since before I can remember," Ranma said.

Sachiko nodded, but didn't say anything.

"And that part about your mother being dead?" Eriko asked.

Ranma said, "I don't know. I've never met her, and pops never talked about her at all. She could really be dead, or he could've been lying about that, too."

"That's terrible," Sei said.

"How repugnant," Eriko said.

Sachiko reached over and gave Ranma an open hug with one of her arms. She said, "And that's the big emergency. As he said, Ranma would like to stay in Lillian. However, we," Sachiko emphasized the plural pronoun, "were worried what the headmistress might say, so we were hoping that the Yamayurikai would help support us."

Youko took another sip of tea before putting her cup back on the saucer in front of her. It lightly clattered from her shaking hand before it settled. She said, "When you say emergency, you really do mean emergency. This is quite an issue." She looked around the table to the others sitting there. "What do we all think about this?"

Shimako had once again unwrapped her rosary from around her wrist and was thumbing through the beads one at a time.

Rei looked flabbergasted, her eyes constantly darting back and forth between Ranma and Sachiko.

Eriko was the first to speak. She asked, "You're proposing that Lillian Private Girls' School accept a boy into its midsts? Into the Yamayurikai, no less? How outrageous." Her mouth broke into a mischievous grin. "I think we should do it. I'd love to see what Ran...ma... kun... does around here. It'll be fun to shake things up. Can you imagine what Valentine's Day will be like? I'll bet you a strawberry milk that Ranma-kun manages to beat out Sachiko this year."

"Outrageous," Sei said. Her fingers raked through her short hair and tugged at the ends of it. "Outrageous. Outrageous. It seems like everything's an outrage, isn't it? If anything, I think that's the real outrage."

"Sei," Youko said, addressing her with her given name for once. "You know..."

"I know," Sei said loudly, interrupting Youko. More subdued, she said, "I know. But you can't really think that it'd be better if Ranma-kun left here."

Youko sighed. She said, "No, I don't."

"Then there we go. If this is what Sachiko and Ranma-kun want to do, then I think we should support them," Sei said.

Youko nodded. She then looked over and asked, "Rei, what's your opinion on this matter?"

"Yoshino's never going to believe this. She's never going to forgive me," Rei said with a shake of her head.

"And what about the proposal?" Youko asked.

"That?" Rei asked. She looked up at Sachiko. "In my opinion, if Sachiko has forgiven... Ranma-kun... then far be it for me to disagree."

Sachiko nodded back.

Youko asked, "Shimako?"

In the silence of the room now directed at her, Shimako could be heard quietly saying, "...with me in paradise." She stared down at the rosary in her hand.

Despite Shimako's lack of reaction to Youko's calling her, everybody stayed quiet as she remained unmoving. She then slowly looked up at Ranma, shock and pain evident on her face. In a more normal volume, she said, "It hurts, Ranma-san. Your deception really hurts."

Her statement stabbed at Ranma's heart, leaving her sore.

Shimako continued, her voice thick and heavy, "However, we are taught to hate the sin, not the sinner, for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." She paused for a moment and tapped her right hand to her forehead, chest, left shoulder, and right shoulder. She then folded it together with her left hand in front of her. "And..." she started saying, but her voice cracked. She swallowed hard. "And if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

"Shimako," Sei said gently. "This and that are different. You don't need to do this."

Shimako fiercely turned to Sei and emphatically said, "Then that just makes it even more important to do. It would be an anathema to cast out a penitent thief seeking redemption. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying 'I repent,' you must forgive them." She paused to take a slow, deep breath, and turned back to Ranma. "We will endure this trial and emerge the stronger for it, I'm sure. Ranma-san most of all."

Youko looked around the table and said, "I believe that means we're all in agreement?"

"Does that mean you approve?" Sachiko asked from where she stood beside Ranma.

Youko looked over to Sachiko and said, "Of course. If this is what you want, than what else can I do but to support you? Besides, I like Ranma-kun. I think he'll be good for you, and he'll be a fine addition to the Yamayurikai."

Eriko overtly coughed. She said, "I think that's a little premature to say." Youko turned to look at her, as did everybody else. "We haven't even had a chance to see how well he prepares the tea, after all."

Youko tipped her head in acknowledgement to Eriko and said, "That is very true. Then I'll rephrase that to say that I hope he will be a fine addition to the Yamayurikai." She looked around the table again and asked, "Is there anything else anybody would like to say on this matter?"

Sei shook her head, and everybody else at the table remained quiet.

"Are there any other emergencies we should discuss?" Youko asked. She asked the room as a whole, but her question was clearly directed at Ranma and Sachiko.

Ranma and Sachiko shook their heads back.

"Very well. Then I believe we should inform the headmistress. Wait here. I'll go make the call," Youko said.

As Ranma was still standing at the side of the room, it was obvious that she remained the center of attention, with everybody looking at her as even as Youko left.

The silence was broken by Rei. She asked, "If you're really a boy, then how do you know so much about makeup?"

"What does being a boy have to do with that?" Ranma asked. She didn't see why that was relevant in any way. It would be like noting that she had grown up in Japan, or that the sun rose in the east.

"I thought boys didn't really learn about makeup," Rei said.

"They don't?" Sachiko asked.

"Not really," Sei said.

"I'm pretty sure my brothers know lipstick exists, but that's probably about it," Eriko said.

"Oh? How interesting," Sachiko said.

"Do they know anything about color-correcting?" Rei asked.

"Absolutely not," Eriko said decisively.

"That's what I thought," Rei said. She turned back to Ranma. "And you said you don't really have a mother, too, so how do you know so much about it? You know more than Yoshino does. Actually, you might know more than I do."

"I learned it from Kondou-sensei in Nara," Ranma said. "But are you sure about boys not knowing this stuff? Most of the people I trained with were boys."

"You trained in makeup? Why?" Sei asked.

"Martial arts," Ranma said as if it were obvious, because it was obvious.

"What kind of martial art uses makeup?" Rei asked.

"Lots of them, but Kondou-sensei was teaching ninjutsu," Ranma said.

"Did you just say ninjutsu? Like a ninja? That ninjutsu?" Sachiko asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said.

"You studied ninjutsu?" Eriko asked.

"Yeah. I said I studied martial arts my whole life, didn't I?" Ranma asked.

"But then what does that have to do with makeup?" Rei asked.

"It's for disguises," Ranma said. It was hard to pass as an innocent elderly businessman if a quick glance at your face would give you away. Even better, if you could fake having a prominent scar, it would be a great misdirection that future investigations could mistakenly focus on.

"I see," Rei said. She looked confused, which matched the look of most of the girls around the room. "Exactly how good are you?"

Ranma's gut instinct was to give her standard answer: that she practiced a little. Being underestimated by a potential opponent was a good thing. On the other hand, were these girls really her opponents? Thus far, the Yamayurikai hadn't been anything other than supportive. Maybe she could take a risk and open up a little.

"It's hard to say, but I'm probably somewhere close to a master," Ranma said.

"Of ninjutsu?" Rei asked. "Yoshino's going to be so excited."

"Nah. I'm more a journeyman of ninjutsu. It's just something I picked up along the way. I meant of my family school, the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Ranma said.

Everybody looked at Rei, who shook her head and shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Anything Goes Martial Arts?" Eriko asked. "That's a strange name. What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just what it sounds like. It means anything goes. Literally. It takes the best parts of every form of fighting out there and combines them all together into one comprehensive style. Things like rules and traditions don't really matter. The most important thing is that it works. That's why we traveled all around Japan and then China, to learn everything we could of every form of martial art we could find."

"And you've been studying martial arts your whole life," Sachiko said. "Then you must know a lot of them."

"I guess," Ranma said.

"How many do you know?" Sei asked.

"I don't know. Let me see..." Ranma said. She raised her head up and started counting off on her fingers, trying remember as many forms as she could, although she was sure she would miss a lot. "... karate, tae kwon do, jeet kune do, muay tai, kung fu, judo, jujutsu, hapkido, tai chi chuan, aikido, sumo..."

Rei looked skeptical. The other girls looked curious.

"... nunchuks, sai, naginata, tonfa, yari, bow, whip, tanto, wakazashi, kodachi, katana, dai-katana..."

"Are you serious?" Rei asked. The other girls had migrated from curious to skeptical as well.

"... beach volleyball, golf, tennis, static trapeze, swimming, high jump, baseball, mountain bicycle racing, bowling, darts, shot put, dressage..."

"Are we still talking about martial arts?" Eriko asked. Shimako and Sei shook their heads back in confusion.

"... calligraphy, pottery, fishing, haiku, crocheting, tailoring, stir frying, cartography, construction, photography, hunting, tax accounting, traffic directing, karaoke..."

"Traffic directing?" Rei asked, loud enough to interrupt Ranma. "Now I know you're making stuff up."

Ranma directed her gaze back at Rei. "Not at all. Martial Arts Traffic Directing has a proud and noble tradition. I studied it at a police station in Sumida. It has some passing similarity to judo, and I expect there was some inspiration from ninjutsu in the distant past as well. It incorporates a lot of tools like tickets, plastic cones, and chalk sticks. It has a surprising number of tricks with paint ball guns, too." It had taken her days to figure how out to properly ricochet a paint ball. It was a shame she hadn't learned any of the advanced techniques, though; Kobayakawa had been insistent that Ranma get her driver's license first. She would need to go back in a few years to complete her repertoire.

"No way," Rei said, shaking her head. "There's no way you're convincing me that Martial Arts Traffic Directing is a real thing."

"Really? Would you like to spar?" Ranma asked. "It's been a while, and I wouldn't mind a refresher. At least, I assume you have a whistle and some some plastic cones around here somewhere."

"I'd be interested in seeing that that," Sachiko said.

"We can get some plastic cones from one of the gyms," Eriko said.

Before they could continue the conversation, Youko entered the room. Her appearance naturally caused everybody to fall quiet and look at her in anticipation.

"The headmistress won't be able to meet with us today," Youko said as she returned to her seat.

"Even for this? It's quite the emergency. Can't she reschedule something?" Eriko asked.

"No. She's not here at all today. She's out traveling for a conference," Youko said. She pulled out her chair and sat down.

"Really?" Sei asked. "Such bad luck."

"Yes, but it could be good luck, too. It will give us time to prepare. We're scheduled to meet her tomorrow morning at 7:30. Rosa Foetida, are you able to attend?"

"Yes."

"Rosa Gigantea?" Youko asked.

"Yes."

"Ranma-kun, I assume you'll be available as well?" Youko asked.

"Yeah."

"I shall be coming too," Sachiko said. "Ranma is my petite soeur. It is right and proper that I be in attendance as well."

Youko nodded. "Very well. We will meet in front of the administration office at 7:25. Do not be late. In the meantime, I believe we still have our regular agenda to talk about." She looked over at the still-standing Sachiko and Ranma and tilted her head in invitation.

Sachiko returned to her seat and sat down. Ranma did likewise, making a brief detour to the side table. She finally helped herself to two of the cups of pudding there and, for the first time, to a cup of tea as well.

"I guess we do, but it feels so dull now after all that, doesn't it?" Eriko asked.

"Maybe, but we still do have our responsibilities to attend to," Youko said. "Now, I believe the primary order of business today is to discuss the cleanup of the festival..."

The meeting progressed quickly. They discussed all the clean-up tasks that were needed, how the work was to be divided amongst all the different classes and organizations, and where and when things were to be disposed of. Ranma's responsibility was to convey this information to all six of the first-year classes. Additionally, she was to inform the cooking club, the rhythmic gymnastics team, and the karate team as well. More abstractly, she received a great deal of appreciation for exactly how many clubs and teams Lillian had. There were a lot.

After the meeting ended, they did some light cleaning up of the Rose Mansion before everybody left to their respective classrooms. On the way out, Ranma and Sachiko agreed to meet at the statue of Mary, after they had delivered their messages to their respective groups after classes, so they could return to the Ogasawara mansion together.

As Ranma walked to the main school building, the remnants of the festival could be seen everywhere. The arrival of all of the students made the tents, signs, balloons, and everything else Ranma had seen on the way in seemed that much more lively. That echo of festivities continued on into the main school building itself. The sign declaring the number of days to the festival had vanished, but that was the only obvious change since two days prior. Storefront advertisements still lined the classroom walls and ribbons still streamed across the ceiling. There would be a great deal of clean-up needed, and Ranma could mentally see the subdivided lines of responsibility which the Yamayurikai had just discussed.

Ranma entered the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom. Like the campus and like the building as a whole, the room still bore the distinct resemblance to the cafe that they had been running. The curtains dividing the room and the large brown pillar had all been pulled to the side to make space for the desks, but everything else remained in place. Brown sheets of paper covered the ceiling, and menus still lined the walls.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said, greeting Ami as she walked in.

"Gokigenyou," Ami said. "You're trying a new hairstyle? It looks very bold."

"Yeah," Ranma said. "I need to talk to you about the festival clean-up."

She spent a few minutes explaining the logistics to Ami: the sections for which the First-year Chrysanthemum group was responsible and the ways everything should be disposed of. She also mentioned that she would need to go around and tell the other classes as well, so she wouldn't be able to join in the cleaning after class today.

Tanezaki arrived and the day's lessons began. Unlike the setting all around them, the classes themselves were back to normal. There were no cancellations for any festival preparations or anything else unusual. If only Yoshino were present, it would have been a perfectly ordinary morning of school, ignoring the fact that the students in the back of the room sat under what looked like a giant brown storm cloud.

Lunch presented a dilemma all its own: Ranma wasn't sure if she should eat it at her desk or go to the cherry tree behind the primary gym.

Yoshino was obviously absent, which meant that if their lunch tradition was to continue, going to the cherry tree would mean eating with Shimako alone. Simply put, the prospect of that made Ranma nervous, maybe even frightened. She already knew she felt bad from what Shimako had said in the morning, and she was worried what else Shimako might say or do. Shimako had spoken of enduring a trial of some sort, and Ranma had no idea what she had in mind.

If it had been a typical martial arts duel, that would have been fine. Ranma was accustomed to the idea of a fierce battle, and she knew exactly how those went. When Ranma won, it brought with it the sweet taste of victory. If Ranma lost, it provided a visceral demonstration of her shortcomings and gave her both the incentive to train more and a decisive indication of what form that training should be. The worst thing that would happen would be a few broken bones, and that hadn't happened in years.

This whole interpersonal-verbal-emotional thing, though, was new and scary. She knew very little about it. She didn't know how to do it. She didn't know what the stakes were. If things went well, then what should she expect? If things went poorly, what was the worst that could happen? How would she even be able to tell if things were going well or poorly?

Her natural impulse was to keep in her own isolated island, spaced away from Shimako and all of those swirly, confusing uncertainties. It would certainly be easier to just stay away. But, if she were to do that, what would happen the next time she encountered Shimako, as was bound to happen if she stayed in Lillian, let alone in the Yamayurikai? Besides, if she were to run away, it somehow felt like she would be ruining something. What that something was was yet another thing she was unsure of, but she still felt like she would be ruining something nonetheless.

Ranma decided to go to the meeting point, and her jittery nervousness followed her the entire way there. That apprehension came to fruition in the most unexpected of ways, though.

The entire area was empty when Ranma arrived. No Shimako. No sheet. Nobody at all. Only the single cherry tree hidden within the grove of ginko trees.

Surprisingly, the absence of Shimako made her feel even worse, which made no sense at all. When an opponent failed to show up for a duel, it was effectively a forfeit and thus a win for Ranma. It wasn't as good as the triumph of a fight, but the implicit acknowledgement that she was the better fighter brought with it some measure of satisfaction. By the same reasoning, Shimako's forfeiture of the field should have felt good. But it didn't. If anything, it felt closer to a defeat.

Ranma leaned her back against the cherry tree and sighed to herself. She really was in proverbially uncharted waters. She would need to ask Sachiko later. Sachiko was the journeyman of Martial Arts Socialization, or whatever it was; she really would need to learn what it was called one of these days. Regardless of its name, though, Ranma was sure Sachiko could help her make sense of everything or refer her to Youko if need be. In the meantime, Ranma still had her lunch. She looked down at the box she carried in her hands and sighed again. Somehow the prospects of it seemed less enticing than they typically did.

"G..gokigenyou."

Ranma looked up to see Shimako approaching. Her slow and hesitant walk mimicked her tentative greeting.

Shimako's arrival somehow made Ranma feel both better and worse. The inexplicable disappointment Ranma felt diminished, but it was replaced by an equal measure of apprehension.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said, trying to project a confidence that she didn't feel at all. Showing weakness was always a terrible idea, especially before a potential fight.

"Did you still want to eat? Lunch? Together?" Shimako asked. She sounded as nervous as Ranma felt.

Jitters of uncertainty floated through Ranma. She masked them all as best she could. "Sure, we could."

Neither Ranma nor Shimako said anything as they spread out the sheet and placed their respective foods upon it. If Yoshino had been present, they could have been discussing the recent kendo demonstration, the upcoming tournament, or any number of other things. Or there could have been some exchange of gossip between Yoshino and Shimako, with Ranma learning ever so slightly more about the social landscape of Lillian. As Yoshino was not present, though, Ranma wasn't entirely sure how she should be interacting with Shimako, and the morning events only made things that much more ambiguous.

Shimako was partway through her small salad when she asked, "Were you scared?" Her voice was quieter than normal, and she refused to look up at Ranma's face.

"Not at all," Ranma said immediately. No matter how she felt, she would never admit to being scared of anything. "About what?" She still wanted to know what Shimako was talking about, though.

"This morning and what you told all of us," Shimako said. She continued to stare at the dish in her lap.

"Oh, that's what you meant? It wasn't that scary," Ranma said. On the scale of zero-to-a-herd-of-cats, it ranked somewhere around the level of her first swim across the Sea of Japan. "Onee-sama was there to help, and everybody in the Yamayurikai's pretty nice. Besides, what's the worst that could have happened? You all say no? That's not any worse than not trying at all."

"You could have just stayed quiet and not told anybody," Shimako said. She slowly, reluctantly, raised her gaze to look Ranma in the eye.

That idea hadn't even crossed Ranma's mind. Once she had told Sachiko the truth, it had seemed natural to proceed with telling everybody. Shimako was right, though. It would have been easy to have kept Ranma Saotome hidden and continued on as the fictitious Ranko Sugita. Why hadn't she?

"It seems pretty bad to keep lying about something like that, doesn't it?" Ranma asked. That's what she had thought when facing Sachiko in that camp clearing. As best she could tell, the same reasoning still applied.

"Yes," Shimako said. Her gaze sank back into her lap. "I suppose you're right. Still, you're very brave."

"Uhh... thanks," Ranma said.

Lunch was mostly quiet after that exchange. Yoshino had always been more social than Shimako was, but it somehow felt different this time. There was a strange ambiance around the area. Shimako now seemed more despondent than tentative, and Ranma wasn't sure how to respond to it. She got the distinct impression that there was something she was missing, and she wondered if she had done something wrong. It was something else for her to discuss with Sachiko later.

The meal eventually concluded with the typical formalities, and they both returned to their respective classrooms.

Afternoon classes came and went. Once they had finished, Ranma quickly packed up her things. She would need to move fast if she wanted to reach all five other classes before everybody dispersed for the evening.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou," Ami and a few other girls said to Ranma in return.

Ranma hurried out of the classroom and into the adjacent room.

It wasn't the same level of abrupt interruption that occurred when Sachiko entered a First-year classroom, but a ripple of excitement still swept through the room at Ranma's entrance. Two girls Ranma didn't recognize stopped sweeping the floor. Marina stopped dusting the chalkboard erasers out of the window. Slowly the wave of inactivity spread out until the room was quiet and looking at her.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou," a girl Ranma recognized but didn't actually know said in response. She was almost as short as Ranma was, and she had long black hair. "Congratulations with the play. It was really good."

"Thanks," Ranma said. "I'm here on Yamayurikai business, about cleaning up the festival. Can you let me know who's your class representative?"

"That would be me. Romi Taniyama. It's a pleasure to meet you," the girl said. She bowed.

"Likewise." Ranma bowed back. She then went through the logistics with Romi, much like she had with Ami in the morning. As she spoke, she remained aware that she was the distinct center of attention for everybody in the room. Once she completed her task, and Romi confirmed she had no questions or concerns, Ranma quickly took her leave. There were still four more classes to go.

The same scene repeated itself four more times. She would enter the classroom, triggering a ripple of excitement from the girls present. She recognized the majority of the faces she saw, even if she only knew the names of some of the girls. Ranma would find the class representative, exchange introductions with her, and then brief her on the cleanup logistics before moving on.

Ranma barely managed to catch the First-year Peach Group as they were in the process of leaving. Shimako was nowhere in sight, and Ranma expected she was in a similar situation as she was: trying to catch all the second-year classes before they left for the day.

The completion of the First-year Peach Group came as a relief. It meant that she had managed to complete all six of her classes. That only left her clubs and teams. They'd have activities for at least an hour, which meant the only timetable she had was her desire to not keep Sachiko waiting for her too long at the statue of Mary.

First on Ranma's list was the karate team, which was ironically the one she was least interested in. She was already a master of that school in all but name, and she sincerely doubted there was any value in observing them. That expectation proved to be true, with the entire club being filled with amateurs. The way they held their stances was already a concern, and the fact they all stopped and stared at her when she walked in only exacerbated her assessment of their lack of dedication and therefore skill. She doubted if any of them could be considered a serious student.

"Gokigenyou, Ranko-san," a burly girl who looked more suited to judo than karate said.

"Gokigenyou. Who's the team captain?" Ranma asked.

"I am," another girl with more of a traditional karate build said. "Mamiko Minase. It's a pleasure to meet you." She gave a bow.

"Likewise," Ranma said, returning the bow. "I'm here on Yamayurikai business, about the festival clean-up."

"I expected it. What should we do?"

Ranma went through their assignments.

"I understand," Mamiko said. She gestured around the room. "Since you're here already, did you want to stay and watch a while?"

"No, I'm good. Gokigenyou," Ranma said. She had already seen enough to know she was not interested. It was impossible to be absolutely sure without facing them in actual combat, but she would have been happy to accept a bet of ramen for a month that she could take on the entire club without being hit once.

"Gokigenyou."

The next group on her agenda was the rhythmic gymnastics team. She had no idea what that was at all, only that the team could be found practicing in a side room near the primary gym.

When she got there, she froze at the entrance, fascinated by the spectacle going on inside. Some girls were flicking long ribbons through the air, and other girls were leaping about while spinning hoops around various parts of their bodies. The instruments were intriguing to say the least, and only grew more so when one girl launched the stick attached to her ribbon high up. There were some girls using more traditional weapons as well, such as balls and clubs, but as Ranma already was very familiar with them, she was much less interested in them.

Ranma's mind whirled with the strategic and tactical possibilities these tools represented. The ribbon was similar to a whip, but it was clearly far lighter and thus less directly threatening, so what was its purpose? Maybe it was something entirely different, like a dart-like projectile which could be retrieved using the trailing ribbon? And what about the hoop? What possible use could a circular tube present? Perhaps it was a defensive thing to block attacks while maintaining maximal visibility?

As Ranma watched more, though, her interest quickly drained. Once the initial luster of surprise had faded, it became clear that the girls were much more interested in flouncing and frolicking than in anything resembling martial arts. What they were doing wasn't useful in the least, except possibly as a distraction. It certainly was eye-catching, but any serious fighter wouldn't be distracted for anything longer than a mere moment, if even that. Sometimes a moment was all that was needed, but even so, there were more practical ways to accomplish that.

Ranma walked in.

"Gokigenyou."

As with the classes and the karate team, the girls all came to a stop and directed their attention to Ranma. The team captain, Azusa Komatsu, greeted her and they exchanged introductions. Ranma then described what the rhythmic gymnastics team was expected to do, with the rest of the team clearly focusing upon her in the way she had come to expect.

"What's all that stuff you're using?" Ranma asked after she had finished her explanation. She gestured with her hand to the various tools around the room.

"They're all part of rhythmic gymnastics. There are several different categories based on the apparatus used. This here is the ribbon. There's also the ball, hoop, clubs, and rope," Azusa said, gesturing to the respective objects as she spoke. One of the girls with short blonde hair flourished the clubs she had in her hands upon their being mentioned.

"But what do you do with them?" Ranma asked.

"We perform with them," Azusa said. "It's like a dance, but with extra things to play with."

"So you don't do any martial arts with them?" Ranma asked.

"Uhh... no. Nothing like that," Azusa said hesitantly. "Do you want to watch a while? It's really a lot of fun."

"I think I'm good. I saw some when I came in," Ranma said. She saw enough to determine she wasn't interested in what the team was doing at least. The tools themselves, though, were another matter. Irrespective of what Azusa said, Ranma thought her original ideas still seemed sound, and she was very curious as to the practicality of the tools for martial arts.

"Actually, do you think I could borrow something?" Ranma asked. Now that she was on her own, she would need to take personal responsibility for the continued development of her martial arts.

"Oh, sure!" Azusa exclaimed. "Whatever you want. What were you interested in?"

"The ribbon and the hoop," Ranma said. Clubs, ropes, and balls were all common things she was already familiar with.

"Good choices. The ribbon is my favorite. Here, I have some spares you can borrow," Azusa said. She led Ranma to the side of the room and handed over a wrapped ribbon and a hoop. "If you have any questions, let me know. And just so you know, we are always interested in getting new members, if you are interested in joining."

"Thanks," Ranma said. She put the ribbon into her book bag and held the hoop in her free hand.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Ranma left the gym and made her way to her final group, the cooking club. As she went, she casually twirled the hoop around her wrist like she had seen one of the girls doing earlier. It was vaguely similar to twirling a nunchucku, only slower and covering more space. She next caught it in her hand and twisted it back and forth, producing a different motion entirely. Neither of those maneuvers seemed particularly useful, though. She wanted to do further experimentation, but her arrival at the kitchen brought an end to that.

The air smelled richly tantalizing as Ranma walked in.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said. Much like the other classes and teams, the attention of all the girls in the room quickly turned to her.

"Gokigenyou," a girl with medium-length black hair said. She turned out to be the club president, and she introduced herself as Satomi Uesaka.

Ranma proceeded to tell her their clean-up responsibilities. As she spoke, her gaze wandered around the room. On the table were several plates of some unknown food. They looked like a cross between a slice of pizza and an okonomiyaki, being some kind of flat, layered pie which had been folded into a wedge.

"What are you cooking?" Ranma asked after she had finished her explanation.

"We're cooking crepes today," Satomi said.

"Crepes? What are those?" Ranma asked.

"They're French. They're somewhat like an okonomiyaki, but you can make desserts with them, too," Satomi said. "This one is filled with strawberries and chocolate, and Sena-san made one with bananas and cream."

"Oh," Ranma said. Both sounded delicious.

"Do you want one? They cook pretty fast," Satomi said.

"Hmmm..." Ranma said. She absolutely did. She liked strawberries and she adored chocolate. On the other hand, she was supposed to be meeting with Sachiko, and she hated to keep her waiting. "No... Onee-sama's waiting for me." Her stomach growled in protest.

"Oh. Well, the nice things about crepes is you can eat them to go, too. Do you like strawberries and chocolate?" Satomi asked. Ranma nodded. "Then here, you can take mine with you. Please. I'll just cook another one." She folded a piece of paper, slid her crepe into it, and then offered it out to Ranma with both her hands.

"Thanks!" Ranma said. Food practically being forced upon her. If Lillian wasn't a paradise, it was the closest thing to it that she had ever experienced. She draped the hoop around her shoulder like a bandoleer and took the crepe.

"You're welcome," Satomi said. "You can come back any time. We're always looking for new members."

"Sure," Ranma said. "Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Ranma munched on the dessert as she walked through the hallways. It was just as sweet and succulent as she had expected. She finished it as she was nearing the exit of the building, and she disposed of the paper before emerging into the open air.

Her hand now free again, Ranma resumed her experiments with the hoop. Her next efforts had her trying to swipe it around. It resulted in something which was easier to manipulate than a staff; trying to do the same maneuver with a staff one-handed would have been almost impossible. However, the motion felt like it lacked any weight to it. It left her feeling dissatisfied, but there was far more experimentation needed before she would be willing to write the hoop off.

Sachiko was waiting for Ranma as she arrived at the statue of Mary.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said. "What's that?"

"This?" Ranma asked. She flung the hoop up into the air before snatching it again on the way down. "I borrowed it from the rhythmic gymnastics team."

"Did you now?" Sachiko asked. She fell into step to walk beside Ranma as they made their way to the nearby bus stop. "Are interested in it?"

"Yeah. I was thinking that the tools they were using could be used for martial arts," Ranma said. She tried swiping out and concurrently pivoting the hoop in an arc. It didn't work very well.

"Martial arts?" Sachiko asked. "Like some kind of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics?"

"Exactly," Ranma said. Her conclusion was that she would really need two hands to properly test any thrusts or slashes with the hoop, so she once again started spinning it around her wrist on the opposite side of where Sachiko was walking.

"Really?" Sachiko asked. "You don't think that sounds strange?"

"Why would it?" Ranma asked. "It wouldn't surprise me if it already exists and I just never heard of it before. I mean, they already got clubs, balls, and ropes. That's half a school's foundation right there."

"Balls?" Sachiko asked. "I guess clubs make sense, but balls? How does that work?"

"They're pretty common, like in Martial Arts Beach Volleyball, Martial Arts Baseball, and Martial Arts Bowling," Ranma said.

"You said you knew some of those, didn't you?" Sachiko asked. "You simply must show me later."

"Sure," Ranma said.

Several girls had congregated at the bus stop which forced Ranma to stop her experiments, lest she accidentally hit somebody by mistake. She hung the hoop over her shoulder once again and then lined up with Sachiko waiting for the bus to arrive. Once again they got onto the bus and began the long journey back to the Ogasawara mansion.

While transferring in the M Train Station, Ranma stopped by a convenience store to buy some concealer and foundation in preparation for the next day. Sayako had said her allowance was to buy whatever she needed, and based on what had happened in the morning, apparently she needed some makeup. The convenience store's small selection failed to meet her standards, though, so Sachiko suggested they take a detour.

They stopped at the K Train Station and quickly found a department store within the building itself. That store did have appropriate concealers and foundations, as well as the tools for their proper application, but they cost an absurd amount of money. Luckily Ranma had an absurd amount of money, even if her allowance was looking less and less absurd as the day went on.

Makeup and tools safely stored away in Ranma's book bag, they returned to the train and resumed their journey back to the Ogasawara mansion.

Upon returning home, Ranma changed hairstyle, clothes, and body. He then headed to the ballroom. It was a spacious and bright area with tall ceilings and wooden floors. That made it a perfect, if excessively decorated, dojo. There was some time before dinner, and while Ranma had had some time to experiment with the hoop already, he was eager to try out the ribbon as well.

His initial testing only served to prove his intuition: the huge length of fabric had a passing similarity to a whip, but it was a fundamentally different idea. The light cloth produced a satisfying sound when pulled through the air, but it was difficult to gain enough momentum to properly strike out with it. It was likely a skilled master could still cause injuries, but at that point, it seemed substantially inferior to a more traditional whip.

He next tried using it to scribble in the air, as he had seen the girls in the gym doing. The light ribbon spread out and floated much more than a whip ever would, but it didn't seem to have much of a point to it. The most it could have done was possibly dissuade an opponent from attack through it, lest they become entangled.

That idea sounded promising. The lightness of the ribbon gave it less control and direct impact than a whip, but it also gave it more flexibility. Maybe that was the way to think about it: as a whip which had sacrificed its aspect of injury in order to maximize its aspect of utility. If that were the case, then it would serve primarily as a means to control the environment and the opponent.

With that in mind, Ranma tried whipping out again, lassoing around an imaginary opponent. It snagged on, which was a very promising start. He experimentally yanked on it, trying to pull his opponent into range for a decisive attack.

He realized his mistake an instant too late. The vase he had snapped flew up through the air, arcing high in the air. Flowers and water flew everywhere scattering across Ranma's head and onto the floor all around.

She yanked back on the ribbon again, trying to pull the vase back before it smashed into the ground on the other side of her. It had the effect of changing the course of the flying vase, buying precious seconds but only that. The fundamental problem of the vase's plummeting towards a hard wood floor still remained, and it was almost certain to be a bad encounter.

Ranma resolved that problem by jumping up into the air and catching the vase. She clutched it to her chest, and twisted around to make sure she had a firm grasp of it. She spun down, twisted, and landed lightly on her feet. Her head and shirt were very obviously wet, a flower was sliding down her back, but everything seemed stable once again. Crisis averted.

"Dinner's going to be..." Sachiko said at the door, and then she gasped. She quickly walked towards Ranma. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, all good. Just a little training accident," Ranma said. She noticed the ribbon had encircled her while she had been twisting through the air. Some nudging out of her elbows showed that it would be very effective as an entangling instrument. It'd take some real effort to break out. More importantly, it'd take a few vital seconds of vulnerability to do so as well. Using the ribbon as a control tool was definitely an interesting avenue to explore.

"What were you doing in here?" Sachiko asked. She grabbed the stick of the ribbon lying on the ground.

"Martial arts practice," Ranma said. She twisted around as Sachiko fished in the ribbon.

"That Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics you were talking about?" Sachiko asked.

"Yeah. Eventually, I hope," Ranma said. She had the kernel of some interesting ideas. Whether they managed to become real techniques remained to be seen.

"Good luck," Sachiko said. "In the meantime, we should get everything cleaned up in here."

Ranma had finished unwrapping herself, and she and Sachiko gathered the scattered flowers and replaced them into the vase. Then a quick trip to a nearby restroom for some towels and water brought Ranma and the ballroom back to their original state.

Afterwards, Ranma and Sachiko went to the dining room. They met Sayako and Mr. Ogasawara there and ate a luscious dinner. Ranma once again got a substantially larger portion than anybody else, which he very much appreciated. Ranma and Sachiko took the opportunity to tell Sayako and Mr. Ogasawara how the meeting with the Yamayurikai had gone. Subsequent to that, there were some discussions around the table about some completely unrelated topics. Mr. Ogasawara asked Sachiko for some details about an upcoming holiday, and Sayako told a brief anecdote about a friend of hers.

Once dinner had finished, Ranma and Sachiko went to a drawing room and spent some time talking about the upcoming meeting with the headmistress. The discussion with the Yamayurikai had gone well, but Ranma was worried what the subsequent day might bring. Sachiko couldn't provide much reassurance about the headmistress, she being equally concerned about what the following day might bring.

She was able to shed some insight into the situation with Shimako, though. She said it was natural to be worried about losing a friend considering everything that had happened in the morning.

Ranma's first impulse was to deny it. He couldn't be friends with Shimako; he hadn't fought a duel with her or anything. However, upon reflection, he realized that his relationship with Shimako did seem to fit the behaviors of friendship as far as he knew them: frequently meeting together, talking about random things, exchanging presents. For the first time in his life, one of those mysterious non-duel friendships had somehow occurred to him. Despite having experienced it for himself, though, it remained just as inexplicable as before. Even in hindsight, he wasn't sure exactly how it had happened.

No, two of them had appeared, considering how if Shimako was a friend, then realistically Yoshino had to be a friend as well. No, three of them, as Sachiko herself had to be considered as well. There were the other members of the Yamayurikai, too. For that matter, did Ami, Yukiyou, Yamamura, Shimono, Sayako, Mr. Ogasawara, and all of the others count as well? It was hard to say. Regardless, he had made a lot of friends since coming to Lillian, and not one of them had occurred through a duel. The realization left him absolutely flabbergasted.

As for Shimako's odd behavior, Sachiko suggested that she was probably in a similar place as Ranma was, equally concerned and confused with trying to figure out what this new situation meant for their relationship. Sachiko suggested that they just be patient and let things work themselves out naturally.

The rest of the evening was spent studying classwork. Even though Ranma was effectively studying on his own, as his classes were entirely different than Sachiko's, he still enjoyed the companionship with her.

After that, Ranma took a bath before retiring to his room.

A maid had already prepared the futon for Ranma, and it was waiting for him in the center of the room when he entered. He slid into it, and he was once again embraced by the soft warmth all around him before quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Last Updated: November 12, 2020


	17. New Challenge

Chapter 17: New Challenge

Ranma was so restless that the first peeks of light in the window woke him up. As comfortable as the futon was, it couldn't soften his understanding that this was to be an important day. No matter what the outcome with the headmistress was, it would represent a fundamental change in his future. It likely wouldn't be as impactful as the night of the festival had been, but unlike his separation from Genma, he knew this was coming in advance. That made all the difference.

Despite being tired, Ranma was too anxious to try to get another hour of sleep, so he reluctantly climbed out of the futon. He changed clothes and then hopped out of the window for some morning training in the forest twilight around the Ogasawara mansion. It wasn't the same as a spar, but there was always something to be gained from practicing mobility techniques.

The sun was in the process of rising when Ranma returned to the mansion. He cleaned up before sharing breakfast with Sachiko, Sayako, and Mr. Ogasawara. Just like himself, Sachiko seemed unusually awake and tense throughout the meal. After that, Ranma changed and got ready for school. This included using her newly acquired makeup to cover up her facial bruise. If Kondou's boasts were to be believe, her technique was good enough to infiltrate the emperor's palace itself, and Sachiko's and Sayako's disbelief when Ranma emerged from the restroom did nothing to cast that assertion into doubt.

Ranma and Sachiko once again left the Ogasawara mansion and made the long trip to Lillian. As they went, Ranma tried to put out of mind the idea that it could be the last time she would do so. Unlike the meeting with the Yamayurikai, Sachiko had no particular insight into how the headmistress would react to learning the truth. Ranma could very well be tossed out of the school before lunch.

There had been a substantial shift in the character of Lillian since the day before. About a fourth of the tents, chairs, signs, balloons, and other festival paraphernalia around the campus had been put away. Considering most of the student groups hadn't received their assignments until late the previous day, it was impressive how much they had already accomplished.

Ranma and Sachiko briefly stopped at the statue of Mary on the way in, both of them taking a moment to pray. Ranma reiterated her prayer from the day before. The outcome had turned out well then, and she saw no reason to change things:

She wanted to be a good person.

She wanted to improve her martial arts.

She wanted to stay with Sachiko and the others.

She wanted lunch to be good.

Ranma and Sachiko then continued towards the meeting which would decide everything.

The inside of the school building had undergone more of a transformation than the outside had. Some of the classrooms had been fully restored to their original academic state. Others remained untouched. Most of them were in a liminal state of transition.

Shimako and Youko were standing in front of the administration office when Ranma and Sachiko arrived. Shimako was once again thumbing through her rosary, one bead at a time. Youko was similarly focused on the open notebook in her hands.

"Gokigenyou."

Shimako and Youko both looked over. "Gokigenyou."

Youko blinked upon seeing Ranma. She lowered her notebook and approached. "You can't have healed that fast." She peered closely at Ranma's temple and slowly drifted to the side. "What happened?"

"It's makeup," Sachiko said. "We didn't believe it either."

"That's incredible. I can't tell at all," Youko said. She continued to orbit around Ranma's head for a few seconds. "I'm definitely going to need to ask you to give me some tips later." Youko stepped back to a more natural distance. "But for now, can you go and clean it off?"

"Sure, but why?" Ranma asked.

"I was thinking that it'd make a better impression if the headmistress saw what your father did," Youko said.

Ranma looked over to Sachiko, who gave a noncommittal tilt of her head. Ranma said, "If you think so. Be right back."

Ranma walked to the nearest restroom and washed her face. It was extra tedious, as she couldn't use hot water, and it took a few cycles before she managed to clean everything off.

By the time Ranma returned to the administration office, the group there had grown. Rei's presence was unexpected but not too much of a surprise. What was a surprise was that Yoshino had arrived as well. Even more of a surprise than her presence, though, was her appearance. She was trussed up in a heavy jacket with a blanket draped over her shoulders and a knitted cap on her head.

The group was in the middle of some kind of discussion as Ranma approached, but she couldn't quite understand what Yoshino had said in the distance. Rei's response was also muffled.

"Then that's good news," Ranma heard Youko say once she got close enough.

Sachiko noticed Ranma first and turned to look at her. Her motion caused the other girls to look over as well.

Now that she was closer and was facing her directly, Ranma could get a better view of Yoshino. She looked atrocious. Her face had a waxy, ashen appearance to it, and there was a labored quality to how she stood. It looked like Yoshino had lost a bout of wrestling against a giant octopus, demanded a rematch, and lost that, too.

"Are you okay?" Ranma and Yoshino both exclaimed.

"I'm fine," Ranma and Yoshino both said.

"No you're not. Just look at you," Ranma and Yoshino both exclaimed.

Ranma and Yoshino both stopped and looked at each other, daring the other to say another duplicated word.

Sachiko and Rei both shook their heads, and Youko quietly laughed in the background.

"What are you doing here?" Ranma asked, breaking the symmetry between her and Yoshino. "I thought you were sick."

"She is sick," Rei said. "I tried to get her to stay at home, but she wouldn't listen."

"And miss this? No way," Yoshino said. Her emphatic answer was counterpointed by a wince on her face as her body tensed up. Ranma moved to catch her, but Rei had already wrapped her arms around Yoshino.

Rei held Yoshino, hugging her shoulder and supporting her. She said, "You see? This is why I said you should have stayed at home."

Yoshino's face slowly relaxed out of its grimace after a few seconds. She asked, "And what would have happened if I had?"

"You could have just said something," Rei said.

"And you could have just asked," Yoshino said.

"Humph!" Yoshino and Rei both exclaimed. They both turned to look away from each other, which was an awkward thing to do, considering Rei was still holding Yoshino.

A flash of motion distracted Ranma, and she looked down the hallway to where Eriko had stopped. Her shoulders were slumped, and she was shaking her head. She then straightened herself and approached.

"Gokigenyou," Eriko said. Her pleasant voice carried no hint of her attitude a few seconds prior.

"Gokigenyou."

"What happened here?" Eriko asked.

"Somebody..." Rei said, emphasizing the word, "... insisted she come today, even though she's very unwell."

"Somebody..." Yoshino said, also emphasizing the word, "... thought I should stay away, even though Ranma-san obviously needs our support."

"Humph!" Yoshino and Rei both exclaimed again.

"Now, now," Eriko said. "We're about to see the headmistress about something very important. Is this really the time for this?"

Yoshino and Rei both remained quiet.

"I know this is very stressful, but fighting with each other isn't going to help," Eriko said.

Neither Yoshino nor Rei moved.

"I'm sure Yoshino-chan is just worried for Ranma-kun, just like Rei is worried for Yoshino-chan. Let's pull ourselves together, okay?" Eriko asked.

In a small voice, Rei said, "Sorry."

In an equally small voice, Yoshino also said, "Sorry."

The two split apart, but neither really looked at each other. In contrast, Eriko exchanged a subtle, sidelong glance with Youko. Youko returned it with an equally subtle tilt of her head.

"Gokigenyou." Sei was the last one to arrive. "It looks like we have everybody today."

Youko shook her head. She said, "One of these days, you really are going to be late for something important."

"A minute is still a minute," Sei said.

"It's not even a minute," Youko said. "We should go now."

Shimako opened the door, and Youko led the way in. The office administrator looked up and said, "Gokigenyou. The headmistress is expecting you. Please go in."

"Thank you," Youko said. She then proceeded to lead the entire group into the headmistress's office. Rei closed the door behind them.

As compared to the first time Ranma had been in the inner office, it felt much more cramped due to the presence of the crowd. It was otherwise very much the same as the last time Ranma had seen it. There were still the two couches on opposite sides of the coffee table, upon which was a vase holding some lilies. The side table with the statue of Mary was there as well, with some roses in the small vase next to it. Ignoring the freshly cut flowers, the biggest change to the room was the blackboard. The contents of the rows and columns had changed, and across the top was now written, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. -Proverbs 3:27."

The headmistress was sitting behind her desk on the professional side of the room. She still wore a black tunic, a white collar, a white coif, and a black veil. Ranma could have been convinced that the woman hadn't changed her clothes at all in the past two weeks, except that her white collar and coif were pristine.

"Gokigenyou," the headmistress said. "The entire Yamayurikai? This is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence today?"

Youko stepped forward. As Sachiko had explained the previous night, this wasn't a request of Ranma's to the headmistress; this was a petition of the Yamayurikai to the administration. As such, Youko would be their representative for this meeting.

Ranma still felt more than slightly uncomfortable resting her fate in the hands of somebody else. It had always been an implicit, and frequently explicit, imperative for her to do things for herself. Relying on other people was a weakness, and she had to be strong.

However, there was one single foundational principle which stood above all others in the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts: do whatever worked. Effectiveness trumped literally everything else. To that end, she saw no reason why relying on other people couldn't be another technique in her repertoire, and she was sure that Youko knew more of these things than she did. And if this stratagem turned out to be a mistake, then Ranma could always adapt as needed.

"Gokigenyou. A matter of great importance has come to our attention. It concerns the student Ranko Sugita," Youko said. She once again spoke in a formal and respectful vernacular to the headmistress.

The headmistress looked over at Ranma, and then she visibly winced. She said, "I see. Please continue."

"This situation is very complicated and somewhat unbelievable, so I would ask you to be patient throughout the explanation," Youko said. She nodded at Ranma. "If you would be so kind?"

Ranma looked up at Sachiko, who also nodded. She took that as her cue, stepped forward, and launched into her explanation, adopting a formal, polite vernacular similar to Youko's. It went marginally better than the previous day's did. The actual presentation to the Yamayurikai provided much more practical experience than the several practice runs she had done prior, just like how an actual fight provided an experience irreproducible through any number of katas. She explained the curse, the deception, the robbery, and everything else.

Once Ranma's presentation came to its conclusion, the headmistress sat back heavily in her seat, a distant look on her face. She asked, "So you're really a boy?"

"Yes," Ranma said.

The headmistress's eyes refocused upon Ranma. She asked, "And you wish to continue to attend Lillian Private Girls' School?"

"Yes," Ranma said.

The headmistress leaned forward. She asked, "Why?"

There were multiple reasons why. She had made numerous friends here. It was where Sachiko was attending. Of all the school she had been in over the years, it was the most pleasant. All of those were true. In accordance with the planning session the previous night, though, she focused on the one which would likely have the most effect. She said, "I have learned a great number of things since coming here, and it's now one of my life goals to be a good person. I believe Lillian is the best place to help me achieve that."

"We agree," Youko said. "Ranma-kun could have just as easily kept his condition a secret and continued to attend as Ranko Sugita. We would have been none the wiser. We believe his actions have demonstrated the effect this place has had upon him, and we fully support him."

The headmistress remained quiet in thought, staring at an indeterminate point on her desk. After several seconds, she sat up straight, refocused upon Ranma, and said, "That is a most laudable indeed. Nevertheless, I'm afraid that I must say that your remaining here is quite impossible."

"Why..." Ranma started to say, but Sachiko's hand on her shoulder stopped her. Ranma turned to look and saw Sachiko shaking her head back at her. Sachiko then nodded to Youko, which caused Ranma to look over to her.

"Why is that?" Youko asked, every bit polite and curious.

"I should think it would be obvious. Lillian Private Girls' School is a girls' school. It is entirely improper for a boy to be here. Everybody would protest," the headmistress said.

"The student body believes that Ranma-kun's continued presence is acceptable," Youko said.

"You can't just unilaterally say the student body is willing to accept a boy into Lillian," the headmistress said.

"We are the duly-elected representatives of the student body," Youko said. It was a simple, non-challenging declaration of fact. "If anybody can speak for them, it is us, just like if anybody is to answer to them, it should be us. If we are to learn how to take responsibility for leadership, we must be allowed to do so."

"The entire Yamayurikai supports this?" the headmistress asked.

"Yes," Youko said. Eriko and Sei nodded as well.

"I see," the headmistress said. "There is the issue of tuition as well. I was going to speak to Sugita-san... to Saotome-san... about this later in private, but it appears to be relevant to this discussion. The check that his father provided has bounced."

"What does that mean?" Ranma asked.

"It means that your father did not pay your tuition. No money has been provided," the headmistress said.

"Oh. I'm not that surprised about that," Ranma said flatly. In retrospect, she had been curious how he had managed to pay in the first place.

"Tuition will not be an issue," Sachiko said.

The headmistress sharply inhaled. She asked, "Am I to understand that the Ogasawara family will be paying then?"

"Yes," Sachiko said.

"I see," the headmistress said. "Nevertheless, I still must reject your proposal. Lillian Private Girls' School began in Meiji 34 as an academy for young women of nobility, and that proud tradition has continued to this day as a prestigious Catholic school for young ladies. For 'young ladies'," the headmistress emphasized. "What kind of precedent would I be setting if I were to allow a boy into the school?"

"If you are concerned that hoards of boys will now travel to China and become cursed such that they can attend Lillian, I do not believe that to be a substantial risk," Youko said.

"Maybe not, but what of those who undertake less exotic and drastic efforts? What happens the next time some boy tries to attend here because his grandmother served as chairman for both here and Hanadera? What should I do then?" the headmistress asked.

"Does that really happen?" Youko asked.

"Not too frequently, but it does occur from time to time. The example I gave was not just a hypothetical one. That boy I mentioned, he sneaked into another Catholic girls' school by switching places with his twin sister. While he was there, he tortured a poor girl and made her life a living nightmare. He isn't the only example, either. I know of a different boy who entered a different school by dressing up as a girl in order to fulfill the final wishes of his late grandfather," the headmistress said.

"Oh," Youko said. She fell quiet.

Ranma wasn't very experienced with this type of situation, but even she could tell that that was a bad sign. Youko was trying her best, but the headmistress's defense was too strong against this type of approach. It meant that it was time to find a different approach. The question was, what other approaches were there?

She thought back to her confrontations and experiences over the past two weeks. What had she learned about social and verbal martial arts during that time?

The most obvious example which came to mind was the equally intransigent Minako. She had pestered, stalked, and generally harassed Ranma over the course of several days until she had been defeated by Sachiko. What was the technique Sachiko had used?

Sachiko had threatened her with reviewing the status of the newspaper club. However, that hadn't actually worked. Sachiko had then asked what would Mary say about how the newspaper club was acting. As Ranma recalled, that had been the decisive blow.

And for that matter, thinking back to her previous encounters with the headmistress, that did seem to be an ongoing pattern. The headmistress had likewise mentioned Mary a few times, both in allowing Ranma to attend in the first place and during her judgment of Ranma's actions with respect to Kashiwagi.

It was a gambit. Her earlier attempts at mimicking Sachiko's techniques with Minako had not been effective, and she had no particular reason to think that trying with the headmistress would meet with any better success. On the other hand, Ranma didn't see success coming from their current approach, either. It would be a risk, but battles were always risky.

"What would Maria-sama say?" Ranma asked.

There was a jolt throughout the room as everybody startled and turned to look at Ranma.

"What did you say?" the headmistress asked.

"I said, 'What would Maria-sama say?'"

A pregnant pause filled the room. The others turned their attention back to the headmistress. This time, she lapsed into silence.

"Would Luke 23:40-43 be relevant?" Shimako asked. Her voice was tentative, but in the otherwise still room, it was perfectly clear.

Once again a shock of surprise went through the room, this time everybody directing their attention to Shimako.

"You would draw an analogy between Saotome-san and the penitent thief?" the headmistress asked.

"Ranma-san is a self-confessed thief, and he has repented," Shimako said. "Would it be inappropriate to suggest that this demonstrates grace?"

The silence extended: 10 seconds. 20 seconds. 30 seconds.

The headmistress sighed. She said, "There is some validity to what you say, and yet." She sighed again. "I will need pray upon this. Return this afternoon at 4:00. I'll let you know my conclusions then."

Ranma had to restrain herself from shouting in triumph. The headmistress's statement was as good as an outright declaration of victory.

This had happened to her more times than she could count. It was always the case where the proverbial gatekeeper blocking her way would need to deliberate with the elders, consult some ancient scrolls, or check whatever they needed to check. The end result of that consultation was always the same: a challenge of some kind. Once Ranma succeeded in that challenge, as she always did, then she would be granted her request.

"Thank you," Youko said. She gave a small bow, as did the others in the room. Ranma quickly noticed them and joined in. They then filed out of the office and into the hallway.

"You seem to be in good spirits," Sachiko said.

"She didn't reject me. That's practically a win already," Ranma said. The rest was a foregone conclusion. Next would be the presentation of the difficult challenge. Following that would be the desperate struggle to learn the new skills she needed to meet that challenge. There would be complications, of course, maybe even to the point that it would seem like all was lost. Then, in the end, she would succeed.

"For now. We still need to see what the headmistress decides," Youko said.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Ranma said. She was curious what a challenge in Martial Arts Socializing, as she had decided to call it until she learned its official name, looked like. However, she was sure she could handle it, no matter what it was.

"I hope your optimism proves true," Youko said. "We'll see at 4:00 today."

"Don't forget. You need to redo your makeup before going to class," Sachiko said. She gestured to Ranma's temple.

"That's right. I definitely want to see how you do that," Youko said.

"I'd like to as well," Shimako said.

Eriko looked over at Shimako and then Youko. She asked, "Did Ranma-kun do something special?"

"I don't know, but I want to find out," Youko said. "This morning, I couldn't see any hint of makeup at all. It was like the bruise was just gone."

"That does sound interesting," Sei said. "I'm coming, too."

Yoshino nodded towards Ranma and said to Rei, "You can go watch, too, if you want."

"But what will happen if you have another attack?" Rei asked.

Yoshino rolled her eyes and gave a tense hum, but she didn't say anything.

Except for Yoshino and Rei, the entire Yamayurikai proceeded to a nearby restroom. Inside, Ranma reapplied her disguise. It was strange to have an audience as she once again hid her bruise under carefully crafted layers of liquids and powders, but compared to the adamant accusations of Kondou, the occasional questions she received was as nothing. Once she had finished her efforts, the group emerged from the restroom, startling two nearby students at their combined appearance.

Everybody then split up to go to their respective classrooms.

As Ranma walked through the hallways, she passed by numerous girls removing posters and bustling around with bundles of various sizes. It was exactly like the previous week, only in reverse. The signs of the festival were rapidly disappearing, and ordinary life was sure to resume shortly.

Yoshino was settled at her desk when Ranma entered the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom. She had removed her cap and her jacket, but she had kept her blanket, which now covered her lap instead of her shoulders. She looked to be in as bad a shape as when Ranma had first seen her in the morning. She could have even been in worse shape.

Ranma exchanged a brief "gokigenyou" with her and then took a seat at her own desk, such as to not exacerbate Yoshino's condition.

Soon thereafter, Ami announced Tanezaki's entrance, and classes began. Just like normal.

And then suddenly things weren't normal anymore.

"Sumazu-san? Are you okay?" Tanezaki asked abruptly.

Ranma whipped her attention over to Yoshino. She had collapsed onto her desk, a grimace of pain on her face. She didn't say anything, but she shook her head in response to the question.

"Would you like to go to the nurse's office?" Tanezaki asked.

Yoshino gave a laborious nod.

"Can you get there on your own?" Tanezaki asked.

Another shake of her head.

"Waki-san, Sugita-san, can please help Sumazu-san to the nurse's office?" Tanezaki asked.

"Got it," Ranma said. She jumped to her feet, leaped over to Yoshino, and picked her up.

And the room grew very still. Everybody was staring at Yoshino. Ranma quickly looked down, concerned that Yoshino's condition had somehow gotten worse. She didn't see a problem, though. If anything, Yoshino seemed to be slowly recovering. Ranma looked up again, but everybody was still staring.

"Is something wrong?" Ranma asked. She looked down at Yoshino again, trying to see what she had missed.

"Oh... uhh... no, not at all," Ami said. "Let's go."

Everybody continued to watch as Ranma left the silent room behind her.

"You're pretty strong, aren't you?" Ami asked as she led Ranma down the hallway.

"I guess so," Ranma said. Genma was stronger, but she was getting there.

"More of that avoiding newspaper girls thing?" Ami asked.

"Right," Ranma said. She had forgotten about that particularly creative interpretation she had said two weeks earlier. Given she was going to continue to attend Lillian, and she was no longer trying to hide herself, she thought it prudent to clarify things. "Actually, it's martial arts. I do martial arts."

"Really? You do? Is that why you're... umm... why you seem to be hurt all the time?" Ami asked in a tentative voice.

It still seemed wrong to refer to bruises as being hurt, but given her experiences with the Yamayurikai, Ranma was sure that that's what Ami was referring to. She said, "Yeah."

"Wow. That looks scary. I don't think I could do that at all," Ami said.

"It's not a big deal," Ranma said. "'The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril,' and all that."

They arrived at the nurse's office, and they quickly explained the situation. The nurse seemed familiar with Yoshino's condition, and she had them tuck Yoshino into a bed and then go to the Second-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom to retrieve Rei. Upon being told what had happened, Rei's face went as ashen as Yoshino's face had been, and she hurried off to the nurse's office. Finally, Ranma and Ami returned back to their own classroom.

The rest of the morning was very forgettable, in that Ranma barely remembered any of it. She was more worried about Yoshino's condition than curious about what her upcoming challenge would be, and she was more curious about what her upcoming challenge would be than interested in class. This was further exacerbated when Rei walked in, informed them that Yoshino would be returning home for the day, and left with Yoshino's things. After that, the classes could have been about learning hiragana for all the good Ranma got out of them.

Lunch came not a moment too soon. Ranma needed a break and a change of scenery.

Shimako arrived at the cherry tree behind the primary gym shortly after Ranma did. Her bearing and movements were, if not more confident, at least more determined than the day before. That rapidly changed once Ranma explained what had happened to Yoshino in class. Shimako's determination melted away into consternation. She said some words of solace that this had happened before and that Yoshino was certain to be alright, but it was obvious that her heart wasn't in it. Both Ranma and Shimako fretted over the course of lunch, even as both of them tried to hide it, and both of them knew they had failed to do so.

Afternoon classes were somewhat better than the morning classes had been. The passage of time had muffled some of Ranma's immediate emotions, and as tepid as Shimako's reassurances had been, it was good to hear that this wasn't the first time Yoshino had had such an attack. Ranma could only hope that Yoshino's fighting spirit would see her through.

The school day came to an end with Ranma working with Yumiri and Sumire to sweep some hallway floors. Once they finished, they exchanged their farewells, and then it was time for Ranma to meet with the headmistress. Anticipation for finding out what her challenge would be came close to matching her concern for Yoshino.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said as she arrived. Sachiko, Youko, Eriko, and Sei were already there. They looked as pensive as Ranma felt.

"Gokigenyou," Sachiko said. She immediately followed it up by asking, "Did something happen?"

"Yoshino-san collapsed in class today," Ranma said.

The assembled girls gasped, and Eriko asked, "She did? What happened?"

"I don't know. All I know is that she was all curled up and in pain. We brought her to the nurse's office and got Rei-sama. About half an hour later, Rei-sama showed up and said that they were going home," Ranma said.

Eriko let out the breath she had been holding. She said, "That's a relief."

"It is?" Ranma asked. She was confused. She failed to understand how being sent home could be considered a relief in any way.

"Yes. If it was really bad, then they would have sent her to the hospital instead," Eriko said.

"So you think she'll be okay," Ranma asked.

"As long as she doesn't do anything else silly, she should be," Eriko said. She shook her head. "I should talk to her later about overexerting herself. Maybe she'll listen to me more than Rei."

They had a brief chat about some other situations Yoshino had been in, including missing out on the opening ceremony to the school year. It added weight to Shimako's earlier statements that Yoshino had been through similar situations before. That made Ranma feel better, enough so that she was properly excited when 4:00 came and Sachiko opened the door to the office.

After greeting them, the headmistress said, "I had not expected to see so many of you here. This is something of a personal matter, so I believe that it would be appropriate if I were to speak to Saotome-san alone."

"Actually, I would rather they stayed," Ranma said, once again adopting a formal speech pattern to address the headmistress. They were her friends, and it felt wrong to leave them out of the process. Also, having witnesses was a good thing in case the headmistress tried to retroactively change her conditions once Ranma had succeeded in her challenge.

"Very well, if that is what you want," the headmistress said. She turned to address Ranma specifically. "You must understand that Lillian Private Girls' School is a school for girls. And yet, I find the arguments put forward this morning to be persuasive. After much prayer, I have concluded that yes, there is grace in what you have done. I believe that Maria-sama would not condone casting you out, and that there is something larger at stake here. I am therefore left with the dilemma of what to do. It is unacceptable for a boy to attend Lillian, but I am simultaneously unable to deny this request. I can only see one possible way to resolve this contradiction."

This was the climax, when the headmistress would reveal the challenge Ranma was to undertake to prove herself worthy of an exception. She listened with eager attentiveness.

"While I cannot accept a boy as a student into Lillian, it would be possible to accept a girl as a student, even one who happened to transform into a boy with the application of hot water. Would that be acceptable to you?"

"What?" Ranma asked. That wasn't at all what she had been expecting. Climb this cliff using only your feet to prove yourself worthy of learning Martial Arts Tightrope Walking. You must hold your breath for 20 minutes before we can teach you the secrets of Martial Arts Beekeeping. That was a proper challenge, not whatever the headmistress had just said.

"I asked if you would you be willing to be a girl who transformed into a boy with hot water, rather than being a boy who transformed into a girl with cold water," the headmistress said.

The idea struck Ranma hard. She hadn't thought of it at all, although now that it had been said, it was really quite obvious.

Her reflexive impulse was to abruptly and loudly deny it. She managed to restrain that impulsive declaration, though, and actually thought about it.

She was a boy. She had been a boy her whole life. Obviously Jusenkyou had happened four weeks earlier, but that hadn't changed anything. Genma was not a panda, and Ranma was not a girl. She remained a boy no matter what her form was. It was fundamentally who she was.

But was it really?

Recent events had led her to question much of what she had thought she had known about her life.

Was being a girl really that bad? Based on the past two weeks, no. She rather liked being a girl, although how much of that was her preference for the company, food, and atmosphere of Lillian over life on the road with Genma, she couldn't say for certain. One thing she could say for certain, though, was that she had no absolutely issue with using her female form when convenient; using every tool to her best advantage was a core tenant of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.

Realistically, there wasn't that much of a difference between being a boy and being a girl, either. She certainly didn't feel any different between the two, excepting the obvious. That wasn't to say there were no differences, but they didn't seem that important. It was like the difference between wearing a keikogi and a sailor dress. It changed her appearance, but not her substance. Whether she was wearing a keikogi or a sailor dress, whether she was a boy or a girl, she was still Ranma underneath it all.

Maybe that was the right analogy: it was like wearing a school uniform. On its own, a uniform didn't really matter. Except everybody thought it should matter, so it did matter. Except it didn't matter.

Except it did matter.

"I apologize. I cannot accept your offer," Ranma said.

The headmistress gasped. She asked, "Really? Might I ask why?"

It would have been so easy to accept. It's what Genma had taught her her whole life: use whatever convenient lie was at hand to achieve the goal. The grandmaster had said it was okay, so could you please teach us the secrets of Martial Arts Woodworking? Some highwaymen just robbed us, so could we please stay at your temple until the morning? Ranko Sugita's mother's dying wish was for her daughter to grow up to be a proper lady, so can you please admit her into Lillian?

"Anything Goes" means anything goes. Effectiveness is the only thing that matters. To a large extent, Ranma still thought that. However, she now felt that there was something even more important than results. She wasn't entirely sure what that something was yet, but she was sure she would eventually find it.

"It's because I'm a boy. If I was going to lie about that, then I might as well have continued pretending to be Ranko Sugita. I made the decision to be a good person, and that means being honest about stuff like this. If that means that I need to leave, then that means I need to leave," Ranma said.

"I don't think it'd be a lie," the headmistress said. "A boy who transforms into a girl and a girl who transforms into a boy. Is there really any difference between them?"

"Yes, there is a difference," Ranma said. The ghost of a smirk crossed her face. "Why else wouldn't you accept me like I really am?"

The headmistress closed her eyes and shook her head. She reopened her eyes again and looked at Ranma. "To think I would need to be taught about honesty from one of my own students. Your integrity does you credit." She went quiet. She then gave a large sigh. "Very well. I propose a compromise. I could consider admitting you as you are. However, I must insist that you remain in female form at all times while in school or attending school functions. You may be a boy, but Lillian is still a girls' school."

Ranma immediately saw a problem with that condition. She had managed to avoid hot water for the past two weeks, but she was sure something would happen sooner or later. She asked, "What if I get splashed?"

"Hmm..." The headmistress looked down for a moment then looked back at Ranma. "Accidents happen, of course, but you should take every reasonable precaution to avoid them, and you should change back as soon as you can. I recommend carrying a bottle of water around with you at all times."

"That's acceptable," Ranma said. It was what she had been doing thus far, and the only problem she had had was worry about being exposed, which would no longer be an issue.

"Good. Now for the most important part: this must have the support of the student body." The headmistress turned to address Youko. "I propose we have a referendum two weeks from now on whether or not Saotome-san is to be allowed to remain. I would expect the Yamayurikai to arrange that. If there is a unanimous vote that Saotome-san can continue to attend, then he will be allowed to do so."

That was more like what Ranma had expected: a proper challenge, with a clear goal, deadline, and stakes. So naturally there was only one possible response.

"That is entirely unreasonable," Youko said.

That wasn't it. The headmistress had presented a challenge, so naturally the proper response was to accept it. Youko's statement was entirely unexpected, and it left Ranma confused and worried that she was going to ruin things. This was proverbial uncharted waters.

"How so?" the headmistress asked "You said the Yamayurikai speaks for the student body, did you not?"

"Yes, but not for every single individual. We could hold a referendum on whether or not we should take Monday off as a holiday and some students would dissent. Getting 100% on anything is impossible," Youko said.

"Then what would you propose?" the headmistress asked.

"A simple majority seems most typical for a referendum," Youko said.

"That's not good enough," the headmistress said. "It's inadequate to have just one more student accept Saotome-san than not. This sets a precedent, and I need to make sure it is one which can withstand challenge from any unscrupulous applicants in the future. Requiring a unanimous vote does that."

"You are certainly correct that it does. The concern is that it is too restrictive. Mistakes happen, as do misunderstandings, jokes, and contrarian votes. If Maria-sama herself were to be put to the same standard, I am not entirely convinced she could pass it," Youko said.

The headmistress looked up and then back towards Youko. She said, "That may be true. Then how about a different standard? You mentioned a referendum on whether or not we should take Monday off as a holiday. I believe it would be reasonable to expect a vote of at least 95% in favor of such a proposal."

"I would think it would be closer to 80%," Youko said.

"If the Yamayurikai supports it, as I'm sure you will?" the headmistress asked.

Youko looked up, paused, and then looked back to the headmistress. She sighed. "90%."

"Very well. If Saotome-san gets a 90% vote in favor, then he will be allowed to re-enroll here properly. I believe it is reasonable to say that any person who is willing to conform to the standards of Lillian and who has such ubiquitous support amongst the student body has, and will have, a legitimate justification for attending." The headmistress turned to Ranma. "Do you agree to those terms?"

Youko addressed Ranma. "It's technically possible, but it won't be easy," she said. "You heard what I said. If we offered a free day off of school, we might be able to get to a 90% vote in favor. It will be a lot of hard work for you to get there, if you even can."

The exchange between Youko and the headmistress left Ranma flabbergasted. She had never imagined that challenges could be negotiated. The concept that they could be anything other than imposed ultimatums was completely foreign to her. It felt like the ground had just fallen out from under her. Luckily, she was an expert in aerial combat; she would definitely need to think about what she had just witnessed and what it all meant.

That was for later, though. In the meantime, Ranma was back on familiar proverbial ground. She had lost count of the number of times she had been in this situation before. It was a common occurrence throughout her life of martial arts training: an unfamiliar challenge, strange new skills to learn, a looming deadline, warnings that what she was about to do was incredibly difficult.

She had a universal answer to every one of those situations.

"I love a challenge."

"In that case, return here tomorrow morning at 7:30. I would like you, along with anybody else appropriate, to explain the curse to all the members of Lillian's staff. I'll have some representatives from the primary school, the middle school, and the university as well. You must tell nobody anything until then. What happens after that is entirely up to you." The headmistress's face softened. "You may not believe this, but really I do wish you the best of luck. Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

As the Yamayurikai left, the headmistress also walked out of her room. She said to the administrator in the main office area, "I'd like you to call a meeting first thing tomorrow morning. We'll meet in the primary, no, the secondary gym at 7:45. Everybody must attend. All the teachers. All the office staff. Everybody in maintenance. Everybody in security. Everybody."

"Everybody?" the administrator asked. "You mean everybody everybody?"

"Yes. I mean everybody everybody. I'll need to see if I can get Tano-san, Hirata-san, Hamada-sensei, and whoever else I can think of to come, too," the headmistress said.

"The university has their monthly budget review tomorrow," the administrator said.

The door to the administration office closed behind Ranma, leaving the adults to discuss their business alone.

Shimako was standing in the hallway. She had her head down, and she was once again thumbing through her rosary. She stopped and looked up when Ranma and the others emerged from the office. She asked, "How did it go?"

"It went great," Ranma said. The process itself had been strange, but the final result had been exactly what she had expected. Next would be the desperate-struggle phase.

"'Great' is not the way I'd describe it," Sei said.

Shimako's blossoming smile was interrupted by Sei's statement, and it got stuck in transition. She asked, "What do you mean? What happened?"

"We need to arrange a referendum two weeks from now on whether or not Ranma-kun can continue to attend," Sei said.

"That doesn't sound that bad," Shimako said.

"We need a 90% vote," Sei said.

"90%? Really?" Shimako asked. "That's preposterous."

"I know. Isn't it great?" Ranma asked. She had two weeks to learn Martial Arts Socializing. She was already excited at the prospects.

"That it is," Eriko said. "Here I was thinking things would be dull after the festival. I knew this would be a good idea."

A large grin came to Sei's face. She asked, "Are we sure we Ranma-kun wouldn't be better as Rosa Foetida en bouton?"

"Absolutely," Sachiko said emphatically. "Ranma is my petite soeur."

"Can you imagine what Rosa Foetida and Ranma-kun would do together?" Youko asked.

"Spoilsports," Eriko said with an exaggerated pout. "So what's next?"

"It sounds like we have a referendum to arrange and a campaign to plan," Youko said.

"In two weeks, too. And here I thought the election was stressful," Sei said.

"If nothing else, it will be like a practice run for Sachiko, Rei-chan, and Shimako," Youko said. She sent a quick glance at Sachiko and Shimako.

"If Rei can participate, that is. I'm sure she'll be busy with practice for her upcoming tournament," Eriko said.

"Two of the three isn't bad," Youko said. "Let's go to the Rose Mansion and start planning this out."

Youko led the way. As they walked through the hallways, they drew the attention of all the girls they passed by. Few girls addressed them, but those who offered a hesitant "gokigenyou" were met by a more assured "gokigenyou" in return from Youko. They left the school building, walked through the brisk autumn air, and soon reached the Rose Mansion.

When they stepped in, Ranma and Shimako split off from the others to go to the kitchen. Shimako showed Ranma where the electric teakettle and the tea service were, and Ranma grabbed a cup of cold water just in case. Together, they brought everything up to the others.

Inside the conference room, a large basket of cookies had been placed on the central table. Sachiko and The Three Roses were sitting around that table with a napkin and a cookie in front of each of them. Shimako took a seat and pulled out a pencil and some paper from her book bag. Concurrently, Ranma served tea to everybody. She then grabbed some cookies from the basket and took a seat of her own next to Sachiko.

"Now that we're all comfortable, let's start that list of what we need to do," Youko said. "The first thing is to arrange the referendum itself. The festival went under budget this year, so I think we can use the leftover from that for this."

Eriko and Sei both nodded, and Shimako wrote down notes on the paper in front of her. Youko took a moment to take a bite out of her cookie.

"We'll need to create a referendum management committee," Sei said. "We can't run it ourselves. It will look biased."

Eriko took a sip of tea and then dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. She turned to Ranma and said, "Adequate."

Ranma wasn't sure how to interpret that.

Eriko then turned to Youko and asked, "Do you think the political action club would be interested in helping?"

Youko said, "I can ask them. I'm sure we aren't the only ones who wouldn't mind a practice run in advance of the upcoming elections."

Sachiko nodded at Youko's statement. Shimako continued to write notes.

"I think that's the easy part sorted out. The hard part will be the campaign," Youko said. She looked around the table, particularly at Ranma.

"Obviously getting the Lillian Kawaraban on board is a must. That has to be the first step," Eriko said.

Sei finished her cookie and took another one from the basket. Ranma had likewise finished her cookies and took three more for herself.

"See?" Sachiko said to Ranma. "This is why it's best to not make an enemy if you can avoid it."

"I see," Ranma said. The advice Sachiko had given did seem to have led to a promising result.

"It should be easy to arrange an interview. I'm sure they are still desperate to learn more about 'Ranko Sugita,'" Youko said.

"Seeing how she was just voted Miss Cinderella by the school, I'm sure of it," Eriko said.

"Who would have guessed how appropriate that was?" Sei asked. "Magical transformation, secret identity, being taken in by Princess Sachiko. The article practically writes itself."

"Yes. I think the big question is when do we want to have them publish, this Saturday or next Saturday?" Youko asked.

Everybody turned to look at Ranma. Ranma, in turn, quickly swallowed the mouthful of tea she had and asked, "Why are you all looking at me?"

"This is your campaign. We'll help you, of course, but much of the work will fall onto you, and you're the one who will need to live with the results, so in the end, it's your decision. What do you want to do?" Youko asked.

"What's the difference?" Ranma asked. She really didn't know much about this stuff at all. She had been expecting to learn from Youko and everybody else.

"It will be bad either way. If you want to publish this Saturday, then you'll have a lot of work to do tonight and in the next two days to prepare for it. If you target next Saturday, then you'll have much more time to prepare for it, but you'll only have a few days to convince everybody before the vote happens," Youko said.

Preparation was good as far as it went, but Ranma's real specialty was to improvise and handle things as they came up. If the main downside for going earlier was that it would be a lot of work, then that was exactly what she had been expecting to do for a challenge anyway. She said, "Then let's go for this Saturday."

Everybody in the room nodded.

"I think that they need to have the copy written by Friday afternoon if they're going to get an extra printed, so you'll need to have that interview tomorrow," Youko said.

"Somebody's going to get no sleep tomorrow night," Sei said.

"And have the time of her life doing it," Eriko said.

"I'm sure," Sei said.

Shimako continued to write notes down.

"What else do we have?" Youko asked. She took a moment to take another sip of tea.

"We'll need to introduce Ranma to everybody," Sachiko said. "It's much easier to demonize somebody you don't know in person."

"That's true. It's a good thing you had him talk to all the First-year Groups already, isn't it?" Sei asked. She sent a meaningful glance at Youko.

Youko didn't react to the glance. She said, "Yes, but that was only the First-year Groups, and I'm sure not everybody was present when he visited. We will need to reach the entire school."

"How can we do that?" Eriko asked.

"Can we have a school-wide assembly, like we do for the elections?" Sei asked.

"I don't think so," Youko said. "I'm sure the headmistress wouldn't want us to set a precedent of committing school resources to this. She's asked us to arrange a referendum, so I'm sure we can do that, but I don't think we should officially do anything beyond that."

"We can still do a lot, even if we only act in our personal capacity," Eriko said. "We can help introduce Ranma-kun to all the third-year students. I'm sure Rei and Sachiko-chan can do the same for the second-years, and Yoshino-chan and Shimako for the first-years."

"That's a good start, but I'm sure that will still leave holes among the people most important to reach," Youko said.

"Then how about we do a tournament?" Ranma asked.

Youko looked at Ranma in confusion. She asked, "A tournament?"

"Yeah," Ranma said.

"What do you mean?" Youko asked.

"I don't know, but in every school I've been to, whenever they want to show off a newcomer, they have a tournament," Ranma said. "The student council president will give me some pompous speech about showing me my place, and then there will be some big announcement of a school-wide tournament."

"I really wonder about all these schools you've attended before," Sachiko said.

"Maybe, but that's not unreasonable," Youko said. Everybody turned took at her. "Not a tournament necessarily, but what if we did have some kind of big event? I've always said we should have more outreach between us and the student body. This may be a good opportunity."

"That would be fun, but it will be hard to do without funding," Eriko said. "What kind of event were you thinking of?"

"I don't know. Does anybody have any ideas?" Youko asked.

Several girls looked down, but nobody said anything. After a few seconds of silence, Youko said, "Well, we can think about that tonight and talk tomorrow. What else do we have?"

The discussion went on. They talked about a variety of different topics: Should Ranma make an announcement to her class? When and in what form should that announcement be? Would the newspaper would be wiling and able to change when they distributed this Saturday's edition? How much of an enticement would offering to have an interview with The Three Roses be?

Throughout the conversation, Ranma listened eagerly, soaking up everything she could. This was familiar ground for her: learning crazy new techniques for an equally crazy objective, a dire deadline to meet lest some disaster befall her. She was so caught up in things that she almost forgot the basket of cookies in front of her. Almost.

The meeting came to a conclusion about an hour later. Shimako's pages were covered with notes, and everybody was excited for what was to come next. The main objective for this day would be to arrange and prepare for the interview with Minako. The work would begin in earnest the following morning.

Once things started to settle, Ranma relaxed enough to remember the other big event of the day. The exchange in front of the administration office had allayed many of her more substantial worries, but she was still curious about Yoshino's condition.

"Does anybody know where Yoshino-san lives?" Ranma asked as she started collecting cups.

"I do. Why do you ask?" Sachiko asked.

"I was thinking of running by and seeing how she's doing," Ranma said. It would be good for a warm up, and it would allow her to assuage her concerns.

Sachiko hesitated and said, "It might be better if you were to call instead. I'm sure Yoshino-chan isn't feeling the best right now, and if you went there in person, it could be an imposition."

"That's a good idea," Eriko said. "You should do that. I'm sure it'd make Yoshino-chan happy."

"Okay. Then does anybody know her number?" Ranma asked.

"Sure. Do you have anything to write with?" Eriko asked.

Ranma wrote the number down on the corner of the stack of notes she had received from Shimako. Then The Three Roses resumed their departure with Sachiko.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Ranma and Shimako were left in the Rose Mansion to straighten the room, dispose of the rubbish, and clean the dishes. As they worked, they talked more about their concern for Yoshino. Their conclusion was that as Eriko and the others didn't seem overly worried, it was likely Yoshino was okay. That transitioned to a discussion about how Yoshino and Rei had been voted as the best soeur pair in the newspaper's vote during the festival. This naturally led to a discussion about how Rei had been voted Mr. Lillian, which was a source of amusement for both of them, almost as much as the fact that Ranma had been voted Miss Cinderella.

They were still talking about the other titles that had been bestowed as they finished cleaning and left the Rose Mansion. At the statue of Mary, they bid their farewells to each other, with Shimako continuing on to the tall front gate of the school while Ranma remained behind to wait for Sachiko.

While she waited, Ranma turned to the statue of Mary. She took a moment to fold her hands together and offer her thanks. The outcome for the day had been about as good as she could have hoped for. She continued on to offer a prayer for Yoshino's recovery, or even better, for her cure.

Sachiko approached a few minutes later. She said, "Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

"I've spoken to the newspaper club. We're scheduled to meet with them after classes tomorrow in the Rose Mansion," Sachiko said.

"Sounds good," Ranma said. She joined Sachiko in walking to the nearby bus station.

"It's going to be a group interview. You'll be the focus, but we'll all be there as well," Sachiko said.

"Makes sense," Ranma said. "Can you help me prepare some stuff tonight?"

"Of course," Sachiko said.

They once again got on a bus, transferred to a train, transferred to another bus, had a short walk together, and finally arrived back at the Ogasawara mansion. Upon entering, Ranma took the opportunity to call Yoshino's house. Yoshino's mother picked up, and she and Ranma exchanged greetings. Apparently Yoshino had pushed herself too hard and was recovering now, but she wasn't in any immediate danger. She was resting, so Ranma wasn't able to speak to her directly. However, her mother assured Ranma that she would pass on her best wishes, as well as a message that Ranma would see her in school once she had recovered. Yoshino's mother wasn't sure why that was so important to emphasize, but promised that she would do so.

Ranma changed after that, and then went to the ballroom for some martial arts practice. He brought with him the hoop and ribbon, and he was experimenting with trying to combine them together as some kind of pseudo-flail when Sachiko joined him. She requested a demonstration of some of the martial arts he had listed the day before, and Ranma was happy to oblige. He always loved showing off his skill. Martial Arts High Jumping got Sachiko to go and retrieve Sayako and Mr. Ogasawara, and his subsequent demonstration of Martial Arts Crocheting delighted all three of them.

The four of them then went to the dining room and ate dinner, during which Ranma and Sachiko told Sayako and Mr. Ogasawara about how their day had gone. The upcoming referendum caught Mr. Ogasawara's attention, and the majority of the dinner was spent focused on that, with Mr. Ogasawara helping to develop some ideas about publicity and how to foster a good impression.

After dinner had concluded, Ranma worked with Sachiko and Mr. Ogasawara to train for the interview with the newspaper club. Mr. Ogasawara took on the role of Minako and asked Ranma several pointed questions, most of which completely tripped him up. Sachiko did better on her questions, although it was still clear she fumbled some of them. All three of them then worked on crafting a strategy for how to handle questions like those, as well as a strategy for how to handle the more general questions the student body was likely to ask.

Once they finished, it was late in the evening. Ranma only had a short time to enjoy the hot tub before it was time to go to sleep once more. He returned to his room and once again slid into the warm and plush futon which had been prepared for him. The day had started stressful, but he was happy with how it had gone.

No, it was more than just the day. Now that he thought about it, he was happy with how his entire life had gone since coming to Lillian.

Immediately upon enrolling in Lillian, he had been challenged with blending in and befriending a rich girl. He had succeeded, becoming soeurs with Sachiko. Thereafter, he had been challenged with learning the role of Cinderella. He had succeeded in that as well, making several friends and changing his life along the way. Now, in the aftermath of his success with Cinderella, he had been challenged to convince the Lillian student body to accept him.

He wondered what would happen to him on his way to succeeding in this challenge.

He could hardly wait.

* * *

Omake:

The Yamayurikai departed, leaving Saori alone in her office to contemplate their insane proposal. Accepting a boy into Lillian? The idea was ludicrous.

Or was it?

What she hadn't told them was that the second example she had given of a boy entering a girls' school had been very different from the first one. That boy had been transparent of his situation in his enrollment application, and the headmistress of Seiou Girls' Academy had still admitted him for some reason. He had subsequently not only thrived in Seiou, he had helped several of his fellow students flourish as well.

So it wasn't absolutely certain that Saotome's presence would be a disaster. However, could Saori risk the first example in the hopes of the second one? How could she know which one Saotome would be?

As much as she had challenged the Yamayurikai, their arguments had been persuasive, Toudou's especially so. There were more parallels between Saotome's story and the various passages and parables in the bible than Saori was entirely comfortable with dismissing. Besides Luke 23:40-43, there were also Mark 10:28-30, Psalm 82:3, and countless others. It wasn't just the general tenants of forgiveness and acceptance, either. His path into and through Lillian did have a feeling of Providence, and his repentance did have an aura of grace.

Saotome had sought, and received, forgiveness from his would-be victims. Indeed, the Ogasawara family had practically adopted him, from what she had gathered. He had also manage to gain the support of the entire Yamayurikai. The student body, too, if the new fad of pigtails and instant noodles was anything to go by.

Lillian was a prestigious Catholic school for young ladies. A "Catholic" school. Advancing morality and righteousness was of the utmost importance. Repentance did not come easily, and Saotome had developed considerably in this short time. It clearly did him much good to be in Lillian. Would he continue to develop elsewhere? Possibly. However he had certainly developed in Lillian.

Regardless, though, he was a boy. A boy in Lillian. That was simply unacceptable.

It was just as unacceptable as the situation with Seiko had been. Back then, the administration had been callous and heavy-handed, and which had resulted in that woefully tragic outcome. Since then, Saori had always favored a lighter touch when dealing with students, and she had thought it had served her well.

However, there had to be a limit. At what point was too much "too much?" At what point did leniency turn into neglect and sympathy turn into weakness? Surely allowing a boy into Lillian was past that.

And yet, it all returned to that question Saotome had posed: What would Mary think about this situation? The fact that he had even thought it spoke to how much he had developed while in Lillian.

What would she do? Would she, could she, endanger her flock by bringing in a stray lamb? What if that lamb was a wolf in disguise? What if the hole in the fence allowed other, currently unknown, predators entry?

What would Mary think about this situation?

Saori just didn't know, so she did what came naturally to her. She removed her rosary and used it to make the sign of the cross.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

She prayed the Apostles Creed upon the crucifix. She proceeded up the beads of the rosary, quietly praying Our Father and Hail Mary. She continued around the decades, focusing on the mysteries and the prayers which had become habitual over a lifetime of practice. She eventually finished with the concluding prayer, bringing it to an end.

The familiar ritual brought with it peace and comfort, allowing her for a short time to put some distance between her and the busy noise of life. However, it brought with it no answers: no revelation of understanding, and no idea what to do next. She was only left with the same question she had begun with.

What would Mary think about this situation?

Saori her opened her eyes. Blinking in the suddenly brighter looking room, she looked up. The first thing she saw was the scheduling board, across the top of which was a biblical passage.

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. -Proverbs 3:27"

Written by her own hand.

It was a sign. It had to be.

No, it was just a coincidence, a remnant left over from Sunday, before she had taken advantage of the holiday to travel across the country and attend that seminar. It should have already been erased and replaced, but she hadn't had a chance to do so yet, due to the early morning meeting with the Yamayurikai.

Still, it was quite a coincidence.

Saori shook her head and reached over to her daily calendar. She tore off three pages.

And then she stared.

Right there at the bottom of the page, in black and white: "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. -Proverbs 3:27"

It was impossible. She snatched back the three sheets that she had just torn off and checked. On the bottom of top page, there it was. The exact same quote.

She flipped past the two in the middle, just to check.

Mark 10:30

Proverbs 17:17

Both of them quite nice sentiments, but she didn't see how they applied to the current situation. That was in start contrast to Proverbs 3:27.

Reusing biblical quotes was a fairly common practice. Certain ones just sounded better, and 365 days was a lot of quotes to fill. As years went by, certain favorites came up time after time. However, never in the same year, and certainly never within a single week. It absolutely had to be a sign.

Saori knew what she would do.

She would offer Saotome a choice. It would be a major one which would have life-changing implications, and it was not at all clear what Saotome would choose to do. Considering the revelation she had just had, though, she already knew what the decision would be.

Saori made the sign of the cross again and said, "Thank you for your guidance. Please grant us the strength to face what is to come."

* * *

Last Updated: November 12, 2020


	18. Epilogue

Chapter 18: Epilogue

1.

Despite having a prepared speech and knowing the entire class already, or maybe because of both, Ranma felt far more nervous than she had at her first introduction. Back then, she had only been concerned with trying to avoid attention. That had been worrisome enough. However, now she was preparing to be truthful and reveal her past weeks of deception. That felt even more intimidating.

"Don't worry. We're right behind you," Sachiko said. She took a moment to adjust Ranma's neckerchief.

Ranma appreciated the gesture.

"It's time," Tanezaki said. She led the way through the hallways to the First-year Chrysanthemum Group classroom, followed by Ranma, Sachiko, and The Three Roses. They all walked in silence. Everybody knew what was about to happen.

"Stand. Bow."

Ranma could practically feel the tension in the room as she walked in. Her entering with Tanezaki in and of itself was most unusual. The presence of Sachiko and The Three Roses only added to that. The curiosity of the situation was only matched by the pressure.

Most of the class was looking at The Three Roses. A couple looked at Ranma and Sachiko, though, as if trying to puzzle out the nature of the interruption. Ranma could feel the weight of their gazes upon her.

Tanezaki said, "Gokigenyou. If I might have your attention, there is something of a situation here, and the Yamayurikai has an announcement they would like to make to you." She nodded to her side.

Based on the angle, it was hard to tell which member of the Yamayurikai Tanezaki was nodding to, but Ranma took that as her cue anyway and stepped forward.

She could feel the eyes of the class snap to her, the new focus of the communal confusion and curiosity. She could do this, though. She had already done so five times: twice with the Ogasawara family, once with the Yamayurikai, once with the headmistress, and once with all the staff.

This would be the sixth, and hopefully final, time.

Ranma took a deep breath and began.

* * *

2.

The class set up the volleyball nets, split up into teams at semi-random, and took their respective positions. It was the start of another banal day of PE.

Ranma was the first to serve in her match. She held the ball low, ready to clumsily bump it across to the other side of the net. Then she stopped. The thought occurred to her that the whole reason she had been doing so little was because Genma had told her to blend in, so that she cold hide within the environment, so she could sneak in, so she could rob some rich girl. None of that applied anymore. There really wasn't a reason that she couldn't become more engaged. That would certainly be better than the thoughtless gestures she had been doing thus far in PE class.

"Ranma-san?" Miyu asked from beside her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. She took three steps back and spun the ball in her hand. She then ran forward two steps, threw the ball high into the air, leaped up, and slammed it over the net. It plummeted to the ground and landed right in the middle between Satomi and Yume.

There was a quiet "ooohhh" from both teams.

While it had been satisfying that Ranma had pulled off the shot, it was equally a disappointment. Nobody on the other side had reacted, let alone had a chance to return her serve. Completely dominating the other side was just as boring as intentionally playing poorly; if she wanted to just practice serving and spiking, she could have done that on her own. In order to make it a proper match, apparently she needed some handicap.

Besides, developing the dexterity of her off-hand would be good to do as well.

Ranma played the rest of the match reverse-handed. Even so, she was decisively better than anybody on either team. She would need to put more thought into a better handicap in the future.

Once class ended, as they were putting everything away, Sumire approached Ranma. She said, "You've been holding back on us. You're really good."

"Thanks," Ranma said. She smiled. She always liked having her skill acknowledged, even for relatively basic things.

"Have you thought about joining the volleyball team?" Sumire asked.

"Oh, you should. You'd be really good," Satomi said. "We'd win all our matches."

* * *

3.

"Here. This is the place," Ranma said.

Shimono stopped the car right in front of the store from which Ranma had acquired her uniforms and other clothing on that first day, weeks earlier.

"Are you ready?" Sachiko asked.

"Yes," Ranma said.

"Okay. Good luck," Sayako said. She handed a thick envelope to Ranma.

Ranma opened the flap to look inside, and her eyes widened in surprise. She had thought that her allowance was a huge sum of money, and it was, but this put that to shame. The thick envelope held what must have been hundreds of bills. The weight of responsibility felt heavy in her hands.

She re-closed the envelope and put it into a pocket. She then stepped out of the already-open door and gave a nod of appreciation to Shimono. She took a moment to compose herself, and then she entered the store.

"Welcome!" the shopkeeper said. When he caught sight of Ranma, though, his pleasant attitude dropped. In a much more surly voice, he said, "You. What are you doing back here?"

"I'm sorry for what I did earlier," Ranma said, speaking formally. She bowed deeply and held it for a few seconds. As her head was down, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sayako was peeking in through a window behind her. Ranma stood up straight again.

"Hmm..." The shopkeeper was still grimacing at Ranma.

"I was not aware of what my father did. I'm here to make amends for the wrongs I have unknowingly caused you," Ranma said.

"Well... alright then..." the shopkeeper said.

"How much do I owe you for the uniforms and clothing?" Ranma asked.

The shopkeeper reached over to a calculator to his side and started typing out some numbers. His hands flew across the keys with the easy flow of somebody who had mastered his trade. He turned the calculator so Ranma could see it.

And Ranma almost passed out. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. She counted the digits one at a time, just to make sure she hadn't misread. She hadn't.

It was a prodigious amount of money. She tried to convert it into an equivalent amount of ramen, but upon passing a full month of meals, even that lost all concrete meaning to her.

The thick envelope Sayako had given her suddenly made much more sense.

Ranma started flipping through the bills, one at a time. As she counted them out, the thought occurred to her that it would be easy to take out a couple of extras and palm them into a pocket. Nobody would ever notice.

This was followed by a feeling of guilt for even thinking that, and she let the thought vanish like a fleeting breeze.

Ranma finished counting out the bills and then offered the thick stack to the shopkeeper with both of her hands, giving a bow as she did so.

The shopkeeper took the stack and counted it. He counted it a second time, and then a third time. He then pulled one of the bills off the top.

"You gave too much," the man said. He handed it back to Ranma.

"Oh," Ranma said. She took the bill and put it back in the envelope. She bowed one more time. "I'm very sorry for the trouble I've caused you."

"Hmm..." the man said. "I guess you're okay. Come back again some day."

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said. She gave one last bow, a short one this time, and left.

The car was waiting in front of the store when Ranma emerged. Sachiko and Sayako were sitting inside it, and Shimono was standing outside. She opened the door for Ranma to enter.

"How did it go?" Sachiko asked.

"It went fine, I think," Ranma said. She handed the decidedly-less-thick envelope back to Sayako.

* * *

4.

"Captain..." one of the girls said. She was dressed in armor, as were all the other girls in the room. The only one dressed in the standard Lillian sailor dress was Ranma.

It had been Rei's idea. They had an upcoming tournament, and Ranma wanted to meet and befriend everybody in the school. It was perfect. She could do some special training and fulfill both objectives. The trickiest part would be to not "hurt" the girls, as Rei had emphasized.

Maybe that would be the second-trickiest part. The trickiest part would be to actually remember the rules of kendo. After learning so many other martial arts, the specific rules of each one of them all jumbled together. In a real fight that didn't matter, but in a sporting match, quibbles like that were important.

Ranma picked up a shinai from a container and checked it. It was new and of high quality. She tapped it on the ground, resulting a satisfying clatter of bamboo slats. She tested it in her hands as well. It had a relatively high amount of flex. That would make some techniques easier but other ones harder.

"Captain..." a different girl said. Ranma tried her best to remember her and the others in the room. It was the point of the event, after all. It was hard without having a name to tie to the face, though.

"Rei-san..." Amane said.

"Ranma-kun knows what he's doing. He can help. Trust me," Rei said. She sent a warning look to Ranma.

Ranma saw that everybody was staring at her. She asked, "What?"

A girl approached Ranma and offered her a handkerchief and a helmet.

"Nah, don't need them," Ranma said, waving her off. A true martial artist just took whatever came her way and used it to improve herself. It wasn't like an surprise attacker would pause to allow you to put on armor. Learning how to take a hit, and even better how to avoid taking a hit, was also a part of martial arts.

"Captain!" another girl exclaimed.

"Ranma-kun," Rei said. She gestured with her hands.

"Fine, fine," Ranma said. She was supposed to be trying to fit in, after all. She reached down, took the handkerchief the girl offered, wrapped it around her hair, and then slid the helmet over her head.

The reduced vision and muffled audio cues were an annoyance, but in proper Anything Goes fashion, it was training, too. She practiced fighting with impairments too infrequently, and this was a good reminder that she might not always have access to all her senses and limbs. She would need to train that more often.

"Mikoi-san, you go first," Amane said.

The girl in question put on a helmet and walked to one end of a long mat which had been spread out in the center of the room. At Rei's urgent gesturing, Ranma walked to the long mat as well.

"Just one thing," Ranma said while standing opposite of Amane. "Can you remind me what the rules of kendo are? Is this the one I can only hit the torso?"

"Captain!!" Several girls shouted this time.

"Rei-san..." Amane said tensely.

Rei looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere. She said, "Ranma-kun..."

Ranma was tempted to add in some buffoonery and insults to really throw them off balance and off guard. In a fight, it was a critical error to let an opponent get to you in any fashion. This wasn't a real fight, though, and it had been emphasized to her that being polite and respectful would meet with much more success in this endeavor.

"Okay. I'll figure it out as I go," Ranma said. She was sure Mikoi's weapon was safe to hit. She had never encountered a martial art which used weapons that considered the weapons themselves as invalid targets. That alone would be enough to get started.

Rei stepped forward to the center of the mat and raised her hand. Mikoi reacted by raising her shinai into a guard position. Her grip was terrible.

Ranma likewise raised her shinai into a guard position.

"Begin!"

Ranma stood there leisurely, waiting for Mikoi to commit herself. And she waited. And she waited.

After several seconds, Mikoi sent a look at Rei and the rest of the kendo team.

It wasn't exactly the type of commitment that Ranma had been expecting, but it was an opening nonetheless. She dashed forward and slashed upward with her shinai. She got a clean hit, which knocked Mikoi's weapon out of her hands and spinning up through the air. Ranma transitioned her slash into a thrust and stopped with the point of it held a centimeter from Mikoi's helmet.

"The first thing you need to do is to work on your focus and avoid distractions," Ranma said. She held out an open hand behind her, and Mikoi's flying weapon snapped into it. "The second thing you need to do is fix your grip."

A collective gasp went through the room.

"Incredible."

Ranma stepped back, tossed Mikoi's shinai towards her, and then turned to Rei. She asked, "Now will you tell me where I'm supposed to strike?"

* * *

5.

Ranma spent long hours in Lillian. Much of this time was spent going to all the different clubs and teams there. Even more time was spent answering questions from and having discussions with the various girls she encountered in the hallways and along the paths around the school. Her days were filled with demonstrating, participating, and, above all, talking. They started busy, and as the week progressed, they only became busier; she expected that that was a good thing.

She was in the process of walking from the greenhouse to the Rose Mansion when she was interrupted by something completely different than a hesitant girl who had some questions. A rustle to the side drew her attention, and a few seconds later, a boy emerged from the hedge there and onto the path.

He wore a dusty tunic and a spotted bandanna, and he carried an enormous backpack on his back. His gait was stable and steady, leaving no openings as he moved. All combined, it was clear that he was a martial artist on a training trip. How good he was, Ranma couldn't say, but he was at least past the basics.

He looked left and right. He then walked straight at Ranma and asked, "Where is Furinkan High School?"

"Huh?" Ranma asked. She looked behind her, in case he had been addressing somebody else. There was nobody there, though. Ranma pointed at herself and asked, "Me?"

"Yes, you," the boy said. "Where is Furinkan High School?"

"Furinkan High School?" Ranma asked. "Never heard of it."

"You have to know. It has to be around here somewhere," the boy said. He reached behind him and extracted a sheet of paper from his backpack. "This is Tokyo, isn't it?" He turned the page a quarter turn to the left. He then turned it another quarter turn.

"Yeah, this is Tokyo," Ranma said. She sprang over to stand next to the boy and looked over his shoulder. More accurately, she looked around his arm, considering how much taller he was than her; it was hard to be sure, but she thought he was somewhat taller than her male form.

The page was clearly a map, but Ranma didn't recognize it. She grabbed the boy's hands, which stiffened at her touch, to stop his third turning of the page. She then turned it herself such that the labels of the streets and buildings were correctly oriented.

"That it?" Ranma asked. She pointed at the labeled building in the center of the map.

"Y..yeah..." the boy said. It hadn't just been his hands. His entire body seemed to have gone rigid.

"No idea," Ranma said. She didn't recognize anything on the map. Then again, even if she had gone past that area, it would have been hard to notice; as practical as navigating by landmarks was, it did make it harder when trying to use a map.

"Wait, I know. Come on," Ranma said. She started walking forward again. She had been on her way to the Rose Mansion, and somebody there would be able to recognize where this school was.

She had only gone a few steps when she saw Eriko in the distance. She called out, "Rosa Foetida!"

Eriko stopped, looked around, spotted Ranma, and approached. Once they got close enough to talk without shouting, she said, "Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said. "Do you know where Furinkan High School is?"

"Furinkan High School?" Eriko asked. "I don't think so. Should I?"

"I don't know. We're trying to find it. Do you recognize this?" Ranma asked. She extracted the map from the boy's hands and handed it to Eriko.

Eriko looked down and said, "This looks familiar." She traced a finger across the paper. "Isn't this in Nerima? No, I'm sure of it. It says it right here."

"Nerima? I thought it was in Tokyo," the boy said.

"It is. Nerima is a special ward in Tokyo. It's a few kilometers northeast of here," Eriko said. She handed the map back to the boy.

"Then I am close. Soon. Thanks," the boy said. He took the map and shoved it into his backpack. He then ran off. If it had been an hour later, it would have made for a properly dramatic exit into the sunset. As it wasn't though, he just quickly disappeared into the distance.

"Who was that?" Eriko asked.

"I don't know. He just showed up looking for directions," Ranma said. Something struck her as odd about the boy, though. She thought about it more, looked up, and checked the position of the sun. She said, "Wait a second. Didn't he run west?"

Eriko got a puzzled look on her face. She said, "I don't know. Maybe?"

"It's the afternoon, and the sun's over there," Ranma said. "Yes, he definitely went west."

"Really? Strange," Eriko said. "Maybe what he's looking for isn't actually in Furinkan High School?"

"I guess that would make sense," Ranma said. She didn't put too much thought into it, though. She still had to meet with others in the Rose Mansion for further planning and coordination. There was a lot to do and too little time.

* * *

6.

"And then the judo team asked me to join them, too," Ranma told Sachiko as she poured her a cup of tea.

"Don't forget. The offer to have you join the kendo team is still open," Rei said from across the table.

"The dance club would like you to join as well," Youko said.

"And them, too. What do you think I should do?" Ranma asked. She put the kettle back on the side table, and then she took her own seat.

"That depends. What do you want to do?" Sachiko asked. She took a sip of tea.

"There is one of them I'm interested in," Ranma said. She reached over and took a roll of bread.

"Which one is that?" Sachiko asked.

"The cooking club," Ranma said. She bit into the yakisoba bread she had claimed.

Sei laughed and asked, "Why am I not surprised?"

Youko said, "I guess we'll need to reexamine their budget. I think we still have some of that reserve fund we've been keeping around."

"Do you think this is an emergency?" Sei asked.

"Do you think this is not an emergency?" Youko asked.

"I guess you're right," Sei said.

Youko raised her teacup to Sei and then took a sip.

Ranma disregarded the antics of the two third-year students and asked, "But what should I do about the others? I can't go around making them all angry."

"Consider this another learning opportunity. Turning people down gently is a very important skill to develop," Sachiko said.

"Okay, but how do I do that?" Ranma asked. Her declination to Genma had been performed with her fists and her feet. That didn't seem like the most appropriate technique to use with the various clubs and teams approaching her.

"The advice that I've been told is to think about what you feel and why you feel that way. Then explain yourself clearly to the other party. They won't know what you are thinking otherwise," Sachiko said.

Youko nodded.

"I know. Why don't you practice with me?" Rei asked. She stood up and walked around the table to stand next to Ranma. She asked, "Ranma-kun, have you given any thought on our offer to join the kendo team?"

Ranma thought about what Sachiko suggested. How did she feel? What were her reasons for not wanting to join the kendo team? How to express herself clearly?

"I have. I don't want to join the kendo team because I'm way better than all of you and it would be a waste of my time."

The room fell silent as everybody snapped over to stare at Ranma.

Sachiko's face turned pale.

Then Youko started giggling.

Sei, in contrast, was slapping her hand on the table in front of her and was outright laughing. Between gasps of breath, she said, "You two really are perfect for each other."

Sachiko coughed. She said, "Okay. That was a good first attempt, but maybe you shouldn't be quite as clear as that. Let's try that again, but maybe be a little less direct this time."

* * *

7.

Shimako raised her hand. The unusual action drew the attention of everybody in the room.

"Yes?" Youko asked.

"I have something important to say," Shimako said. Her voice was as shaky as her hand was.

Youko turned to look at Sei.

Sei shrugged at Youko and then turned to Shimako. She asked, "What is it?"

"Now that Yoshino-san has returned and everybody is here, I'm..." Shimako said, "... I wanted to say, I would like to run for the position of Rosa Gigantea next year."

Sei's eyes widened. She asked, "Is that so?"

Youko sent Sei a confused look, but she got nothing in return. She then sent a look at Eriko, who looked back, equally confused.

"Okay. I think we had all assumed that you were going to," Youko said.

"Shh..." Sei said. "Let her speak."

Youko sent Sei another confused look, but then she nodded to Shimako. She said, "Excuse me. Please go ahead."

Shimako remained silent for a few seconds with her eyes downcast. She then looked up and said, "The thing is, I've been keeping a secret." Everybody became much more focused on Shimako, and she seemed to wilt under the combined attention. She persevered through it and said, "And I need to tell you all now. If Ranma-san passes his referendum, it will feel cheapened, and if Ranma-san fails, then... then I don't know if I will be able to."

The room fell silent again, waiting for Shimako to gather her courage.

"The truth is..." Shimako faltered. She gathered herself and started over. "The truth is... my father is the chief priest of Shouguu Temple!"

The room fell silent again.

Shimako seemed to have lost her nerve, so Ranma tried to help prompt her to continue. She asked, "And?"

Everybody turned to stare at Ranma, which was a signal she was starting to associate with her having done something wrong. What that was in this case, though, she had no idea.

"And what?" Shimako asked.

"And what's this big secret then?" Ranma asked.

"Shouguu Temple is one of the largest Buddhist temple in all of Tokyo," Sachiko said.

Ranma still didn't follow. She asked, "So what?"

"It means my father's the chief priest of a major Buddhist temple," Shimako said.

"That's the big secret?" Ranma asked. "That's stupid!"

"Ranma!" Sachiko exclaimed.

"But it's true! Who cares what Shimako-san's parents are?" Ranma asked. She certainly didn't want to be judged based on Genma.

"As Ranma-kun has so rudely..." Youko sent a sharp glare at Ranma, "... put it, why did you think that was important?"

Shimako looked down to at the table in front of her. She said, "This is a Catholic school, and... and my father is a major priest of Buddhism."

"Then let me officially tell you that that isn't important. Do you know what my parents are? Or what I am?" Youko asked. "There's no requirement that everybody in Lillian be Catholic, and even if there were, you're still the most devout one of all of us here."

"Oh," Shimako said in a small voice.

"Congratulations," Sei said. "Good job."

Shimako visibly relaxed, as if a great weight had sloughed off of her shoulders.

Youko turned to Eriko and said, "So now I believe that it is Rosa Foetida's turn."

"My turn for what?" Eriko asked.

"Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur is really a boy. Rosa Gigantea en bouton's father is the chief priest of a major Buddhist temple. Naturally, Rosa Foetida must also have some big secret to complete the pattern," Youko said.

"Oh, I see," Eriko said. She put her hand to her chin and looked upward. "Well... I have a boyfriend. Does that count?"

"You do?" several girls exclaimed.

"Who is it?" Sei asked.

"What does he look like?" Youko asked.

"Where did you meet him?" Sachiko asked.

"What's he like?" Rei asked.

"Just kidding!" Eriko exclaimed.

It was like the room deflated.

Sei raised her hand. She said, "Rosa Gigantea would like to go on record protesting Rosa Foetida's actions."

Youko raised her hand as well. She said, "Rosa Chinensis seconds that protest."

Eriko clapped her hands together and quickly bowed her head to everybody. "Sorry, sorry. I really don't have a big secret like that. Maybe we have the pattern all wrong. It could be that it's really the three first-year students." She turned to Yoshino. "How about you, Yoshino-chan? Do you have some big secret you should share with us?"

Yoshino startled. She paused for a moment and then said, "I wasn't planning on saying this until later, but I suppose I could tell you all about my heart now."

"That's hardly a secret. Everybody already knows about your heart condition," Rei said.

"Not that. I'm going to be getting surgery for it this Sunday," Yoshino said. She tapped her chest.

"Really? Are you joking?" Eriko asked.

"No. I'm really going to have heart surgery this Sunday," Yoshino said.

"You are?!" Rei's exclamation was louder than all the other shouts combined.

* * *

8.

Yoshino had been correct. Rei was sulking. That meant there was only one thing to do. Ranma slashed out with the shinai in her hands.

The bamboo slats smacked into Rei's side with a satisfying clatter.

"Oww!" Rei turned around, her morose apathy temporarily overcome by the shock from being attacked. "What was that for?"

"Special training. How are you supposed to win the tournament like that?" Ranma asked. She flipped the shinai to rest on her shoulder and adopted a more casual stance.

"What do you care about that?" Rei asked.

"Go ask Yoshino-san. She's the one who sent me to check on you," Ranma said. "Good thing she did, too. You're totally off guard."

"Yoshino? But she hates me," Rei said. She got a distant, even dour, look on her face. She was clearly going out of things again. Ranma quickly redressed that issue.

"Oww!"

"How could you possibly think that?" Ranma asked.

"Of course she hates me. Why else would she schedule her surgery on the same day as my tournament," Rei said.

"You're..." Ranma started saying, but then she stopped herself. Sachiko and the others had told her that being so direct was rude. She needed to be more indirect. "That's really stupid." That sounded better. "You've got to know Yoshino-san better than that. I've only known her for a few weeks, and I know her better than that." True, Ranma mainly knew because Yoshino had told her directly, but that didn't change the fact that she did know.

"If you're such an expert, then you tell me. Why did she schedule her surgery on that day? Why is she avoiding me?" Rei asked.

"She's doing it for you. She wants to get stronger for you," Ranma said.

Rei said, "But she doesn't need to. I'll always be there to.. Oww!"

"This isn't about you. This is about her. She doesn't want to be depending on you so much. Sometimes a man's got to be a man, even if she's really a girl," Ranma said.

"That doesn't make any sense," Rei said.

"I can't believe you were voted Mr. Lillian. Haven't you read any of those books of hers?" Ranma asked.

"Not really," Rei said.

"Then let me put it plainly for you. Yoshino-san wants to be strong so she can be your partner, but how can she do that if you're always there protecting her? She scheduled her surgery that day to prove that she can do this on her own. So you shouldn't be worried about the surgery. What you should be worried about is how you're going to face her after it. What do you think will happen when you tell her that you lost because of her? So pull yourself together!" Ranma swung again, but Rei blocked it with her own shinai. She blocked Ranma's follow-up swing as well. "There we go. That's better."

"Oww!"

"But don't let down your guard," Ranma said.

* * *

9.

In the distance, there was a boy wearing a spotted bandanna, a dusty tunic, and an enormous backpack. He was staring at a piece of paper in his hands.

"Isn't that that boy we saw a few days ago?" Ranma asked.

"I think so," Eriko said.

"Who is this?" Youko asked.

"Some boy Ranma-kun was talking to a few days ago. He was asking for directions somewhere," Eriko said.

"Furinkan High School," Ranma said.

"That sounds right. I just remember that it was someplace in Nerima," Eriko said. "I wonder what he's doing back here again."

The boy looked in their direction and then approached. When he got close, he asked, "Where is the special district?"

"What special district?" Youko asked.

"The special district," the lost boy said. "I'm looking for Furinkan High School."

"Isn't that the same place you were looking for last time?" Eriko asked

"Yeah."

"Okay. It's called 'Nerima,' not 'the special district,' and it's still northeast of here, about 5 or 10 kilometers away," Ranma said.

"Thanks," the lost boy said. He turned left, then right, then turned back to Ranma. He blushed and asked, "Which way is northeast?"

"That way," Ranma said. She pointed.

"Thanks," the lost boy said. He started running in the indicated direction.

"What do you think that's all about?" Eriko asked.

"I don't know. At least he's going the right way this time," Ranma said.

A loud series of cracks caused everybody to turn and look. In the distance, straight in the direction the lost boy had run, a human-sized hole was now visible in the hedge there. The shattered remnants of a fallen tree was visible on the ground beyond it.

"Did he just do that?" Eriko asked. She stared at the hole.

"I didn't see," Ranma said.

"The environmental care committee may need to request some extra funds to fix that," Shimako said. She was also staring at the hole.

Youko pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. She said, "Have Mikako-san make a formal request, and we'll figure something out."

* * *

10.

Ranma had always thought that the sweet taste of victory was best feeling in the world. She had been wrong.

"Congratulations!"

Several ribbons decorated the walls and there was a large cake on the conference room table. It was like the welcoming ceremony all over again, only this time, it was for "Ranma Saotome" rather than "Ranko Sugita." The smile on Ranma's face was so big that her cheeks hurt.

"You'd better be careful, or Ranma-kun's going to run for Rosa Chinensis next year and take it away from you," Eriko said to Sachiko.

"Then what would we call Sachiko? Rosa Chinensis grande soeur?" Youko asked.

"Nah. I wouldn't do that," Ranma said. She was honestly curious if she could surpass Sachiko's skill in Martial Arts Socializing. She was fairly sure she could, if she spent the next few months in focused training, but she would never do that to Sachiko.

"I guess you're safe for now," Eriko said to Sachiko.

"Come on. Let's cut the cake," Ranma said.

A laugh went around the room.

Sachiko handed Ranma a knife and said, "You do the honors."

Ranma distributed some cake to everybody else before she cut a slice triple the size of the others for herself. That also drew a laugh as she heaped it onto her plate.

After everybody had been served and had taken a seat, Youko said, "We do have a serious piece of business to discuss today." She sliced off a forkful of cake as she spoke.

"What's that?" Sei asked. She then took a bite of her own cake.

"Hanadera is still not talking to us. We need to figure out what to do about them," Youko said.

"What can we do? Ranma-kun even sent that apology letter and everything," Eriko said. She winced and then slid her plate of cake away from her.

"Maybe we need to do something bigger. What if we invite them to a banquet, like as a peace offering?" Youko asked.

"What if they turn us down? Then our situation would be even worse than now," Sei said.

There were some general nods of agreement from around the room.

"Nah, you're going about this all wrong," Ranma said. Everybody turned to look at her. "If you want Kashiwagi-san to make up with us, it's easy."

"Oh? How?" Youko asked.

"I'll just send him a challenge letter. That'll fix everything right up," Ranma said.

"What?" Youko asked.

"Yeah. We'll have a duel. They'll send a champion. I'll go as Lillian's champion. We'll have a big fight, and then everything will back to normal. It works every time," Ranma said, waving her hand dismissively. She had gone through the process enough times that it was practically routine.

"What?" Eriko asked.

"I went to tons of different schools back when I was traveling. It was always the same: get bullied for a while, and eventually get into a big fight with the boss of the school. Then bam! We're friends. Or eternal rivals. Hmm..." Ranma had never figured out what determined which outcome occurred. She shrugged. "Eh... either way, they won't be ignoring us anymore."

"What?" Sei asked.

"Those schools of yours," Sachiko said. She shook her head.

"That sounds like a terrible idea," Youko said.

"It does, but the real question is, 'Do we have any better ones?'" Sei asked

* * *

11.

Much like the previous times Ranma had entered, all the girls in the kitchen turned their attention to her as she walked in.

"Ranma-san, welcome back," Mone said.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said. She took an extra apron hanging on a wall and put it on. "I want to join the cooking club."

"Wonderful. That's great to hear. We'd love to have you." Satomi looked to the side and tapped her fingers together in front of her. Her speaking slowed down and grew more quiet. "The thing is... that is to say... traditionally new members are tested... by having them cook something for the club first." She looked back at Ranma and quickly added, "But you don't need to do that right now! You can think up something to prepare for next time. Or whenever you want."

"A challenge, you say?" Ranma asked, a grin coming to her face. She let the water in the sink faucet run for a few seconds to flush out any hot water remaining in the pipes. "I'm sure I can handle it now. What are the rules? What's the secret ingredient? What's the handicap?" Ranma plunged her hands into the cold stream to wash them.

Satomi looked confused. She said, "Uhh... nothing. Just cook whatever you want."

"Anything goes, you say?" Ranma asked, her grin growing larger. As she wiped her hands dry, she surveyed the area: chicken, tofu, an assortment of vegetables, a decent spice rack. There were definitely things to work with. She picked up a knife and almost started spinning it idly in her hands before she remembered the reaction the Yamayurikai had had to that and restrained herself.

Satomi gave a hesitant nod.

"Sounds easy enough," Ranma said. She walked over to one of the cutting boards, picked up the tomatoes sitting there, and tossed them high into the air.

* * *

12.

It was the first time Ranma was returning to the Ogasawara mansion on her own.

As she had with Sachiko before, she made her way to the bus stop near the front entrance of Lillian. There were six girls waiting there, and Ranma join them at the end of the queue.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

As she waited there, the thought occurred to her that she absolutely could go home that way. She had taken the trip with Sachiko enough times that she knew how it went. She could wait for the bus to arrive. And then wait for all the red lights while the bus made its way to the train station. And then wait for all the other stops the bus made. And then wait for the train to arrive at the train station. And then wait for all the stops as the train went on its route. And then wait for the next bus to arrive at the destination train station. And then wait for all the red lights while that bus made its way to the stop near the Ogasawara mansion. And then wait for all the other stops that bus made on its way to that destination stop.

Alternatively, she could save a lot time by just going to the Ogasawara mansion directly. It would be even better than that. The run would serve as a good warm-up as well, saving even more time.

"Gokigenyou." Ranma stepped out of the queue and started running.

She made her way through the paths and the streets in the direction of the Ogasawara mansion. Any time she saw a fence, guardrail, or anything else elevated, she hopped onto it and ran along it for as long as she could. She dodged into and through the crowds with the agility honed by countless escapes from pursuing officers in train stations.

As Ranma got closer to the Ogasawara mansion, she started to recognize various landmarks all around her. There was the convenience store, and the park, and the tall building, and Sachiko.

"Onee-sama, gokigenyou," Ranma said. She slowed down to a walk and joined Sachiko.

Sachiko startled and looked around. She said, "Gokigenyou. Where did you come from?"

"Lillian," Ranma said.

"You took a taxi?" Sachiko asked.

"No. I ran here," Ranma said.

"You ran here? All the way from Lillian?" Sachiko asked.

"Yeah. I figured it'd be a good warm-up. Faster, too," Ranma said. She felt the pleasant hum of energy coursing through her. She was all ready for some serious training.

"But..." Sachiko said. She floundered. "You shouldn't do that."

"Why not?" Ranma asked.

"It's dangerous... or rather, you'll get your uniform all sweaty..." Sachiko took a closer look at Ranma, who wasn't sweating, "... or rather, you'll stick Lillian students with the label of 'always running around everywhere in the city.'"

"And that's bad?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. At least change your clothes before you do that," Sachiko said.

"Uhh... okay," Ranma said. Changing clothes before training wasn't that unusual, even if she never really understood the point of it.

* * *

13.

"What do you think about France?" Mr. Ogasawara asked Ranma over dinner.

"France? I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. Why do you ask?" Ranma asked. It was like the Atlantic Ocean or the Great Barrier Reef: it was there, and it was important in an abstract way, but it was so distant and removed that it didn't warrant any real thought. It just wasn't relevant to his life in any meaningful way.

"I have some business there, and my wife wants to go visiting some people. I thought we'd make it a family trip," Mr. Ogasawara said.

"That sounds like it could be interesting," Ranma said. It wasn't as if he had anything else in particular to do. Well, he did have his training, but he could do that anywhere.

Upon further reflection of that last thought, though, Ranma did start to get excited at the prospect of visiting France. China had been full of obscure martial arts techniques, and that was just across the Sea of Japan. France was continents away. They had to have new and interesting martial arts there. He said, "No, that sounds like it could be really good. When's the trip?"

"During the upcoming after-exam break in school. Do you still have your passport?" Mr. Ogasawara asked.

"Passport? What's that?" Ranma asked.

"Your passport. The thing you used to travel to China," Mr. Ogasawara said.

"We didn't use anything to travel to China. We just swam there," Ranma said. It had taken days for his pack to dry out after the trip.

"You swam across the Sea of Japan?" Sayako asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "How else would you get there?"

Mr. Ogasawara said, "I guess we'll can try to apply for a replacement one or something. That can't be too uncommon for minors."

* * *

14.

Ranma approached the center of the field.

Behind her stood Sachiko, Yoshino, Youko, and Rei. Most of them looked worried and skeptical. Yoshino looked excited, and she held her hands in front of her clenched into fists.

It was at times like this that Ranma realized exactly how short she was in her female form. A mountain of a boy stepped forward to meet her. He towered over her by a half meter. He wore a dingy keikogi, and muscles could be seen bulging out through its numerous tears.

For her part, Ranma was dressed in a policewoman's uniform. She didn't foresee any real challenge in this duel, and limiting herself to the formal forms of Martial Arts Traffic Directing made for a good handicap; in the worst case, she could always revert to the more pragmatic Anything Goes fighting style if she needed to. There had been an incidental and unexpected benefit to doing this as well. Now that she was actually wearing a pencil skirt, the stances and footwork of the forms finally made sense to her.

The mountainous boy looked over behind him, to where Kashiwagi was standing with two other boys. Most of them looked on with a mixture of incredulity, disdain, and dismissal. Kashiwagi looked eager for revenge.

"Her? This little girl?" the mountainous boy shouted out to the group standing behind him, pointing at Ranma.

"Yes! Her!" Kashiwagi shouted back.

The mountainous boy turned back to Ranma, a look of confusion on his face.

Ranma continued to stand in a casual-looking but ready martial arts stance. Tradition stated introductions should be said at the start of a duel, but it wouldn't be the first time somebody had tried to steal an advantage of a sneak attack. A lifetime training with Genma had told her she should always be ready for the unexpected, even if she didn't appear to be.

The mountainous boy said, "I am Taito Ookubo, third dan... No, sorry, I need to ask. Why are you dressed like a police officer?"

Ranma maintained her guard in case this was a distraction. She said, "A friend of mine doesn't believe Martial Arts Traffic Directing is an actual form of martial arts. I thought this would be a good chance to demonstrate."

"Martial Arts Traffic Directing? Are you kidding me?" Ookubo asked. His look of confusion remained, but it was joined with equal measures of disbelief and disgust.

"Not at all. I guess I get to give you a demonstration today as well," Ranma said with a smirk. She never understood why people were so dismissive of things like Martial Arts Crocheting and Martial Arts Tax Accounting. That didn't prevent her from enjoying the moment of shocking admiration from the spectators when they saw them in action, or even better, the moment of despair from her opponents when they realized they were about to be defeated by them. A judo throw was fun enough, but literally tying them up with red tape was even more satisfying.

Ookubo turned back around to Kashiwagi and shouted out again, "Her? Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Get her!" Kashiwagi shouted back.

Ookubo turned back to Ranma once again. Resignation now dominated his bearing. It filled Ranma with delicious anticipation. Underestimating an opponent was always a critical mistake, and Ranma was eager to teach Ookubo the folly of his ways.

"Like I was saying, I am Taito Ookubo, third dan in karate, first dan in jiujutsu, and captain of the Hanadera's Academy for Boys karate club. Nothing personal," Ookubo dropped into a traditional karate stance, "but apparently I got to beat you up."

"I am Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur of Lillian Private Girls' School." Ranma transition from her casual ready stance into one of the stances of Martial Arts Traffic Directing: feet together and slightly bent, one arm held forward with hand raised and palm facing towards Ookubo, and whistle held in between her teeth.

She then turned her outstretched hand over, gave a beckoning motion, and blew her whistle.

* * *

15.

Ranma had to fight against her ribs, which protested her temerity for wanting to stand up straight. Still, she did so. It would do no good to show weakness while the Hanadera students were still in view.

In the distance, Kashiwagi and the other boys were dragging Ookubo away. His feet were still entangled with Ranma's whistle, several scraps of paper could be seen sticking out of his hair, and the light dusting of chalk which covered Ookubo left clear marks on the other boys' clothing.

"So... what exactly was that?" Youko asked.

"I told you. Martial Arts Traffic Directing. The basics at least. I'd need an paint ball gun for the intermediate forms," Ranma said.

One of the boys turned to glance at Ranma. Ranma smiled and waved back at him.

"That was incredible," Yoshino said. Her hands were flailing around in a poor imitation of the techniques of Martial Arts Traffic Directing.

In truth, the fight had gone terribly. Ranma hadn't realized exactly how much of an effect her shorter arms and legs had. Against a more serious opponent, it could have been decisive. She decided she would need to spend some serious time familiarizing herself with her female form as soon as she could.

Even so, Ranma felt good. She had handily won, even if what should have been a flawless victory had instead been a painful win. She had also earned either a friend or an eternal rival in Hanadera. She wasn't sure which prospect excited her more. No matter which outcome, it would be great. Having a friend in the school would be good if anything happened in the future, and having an eternal rival was great for her martial arts.

"Rei-chan?" Youko asked.

"It's really real..." Rei said. "That's... crazy..."

Another one of the boys cast a glance at Ranma. Ranma smiled and waved back to him as well. She then turned to Yoshino and said, "See? Defense and counterattack."

"That's only one example!"

* * *

16.

"I don't understand it. Hanadera's talking to us again and everything's back to normal. What's going on?" Youko asked.

"It's like I told you. We have a fight, I beat their champion, and problem solved," Ranma said. She felt good for having successfully fixed everything.

"But how? Why?" Sei asked.

"Hmm..." Ranma said. She had never really analyzed how it worked before. It just sort of happened.

She tried to put her intuition into words.

"Well, I fought Ookubo-san and beat him, right? So now Kashiwagi-san's got to be feeling better about himself. I mean, sure, he got beat, but Ookubo-san was beat, too, and Ookubo-san's way stronger than him, so what hope did he ever have? So now that Kashiwagi-san's feeling better about things, he's not going to cause any more trouble. And since he's the top guy in the school, everybody else follows his lead."

Ranma nodded to herself.

"But what would have happened if you had lost to Ookubo-san?" Youko asked.

"Lose? To him? Never," Ranma said. Ookubo was certainly a proficient martial artist, but proficiency was a very low bar that Ranma had surpassed years ago. The fight had gone as poorly as it possibly could have, short of some unexpected outside interference, and she had still handily won.

"But what if you had?" Rei asked.

"Never gonna happen," Ranma said.

"What if he had, I don't know, eaten some special soba to make him super strong, or gotten some magical bird which made unbeatable, or something else like that?" Yoshino asked.

Ranma stopped to think about that. If Ookubo had found some kind of secret artifact or special weapon, then she supposed he could theoretically have beaten her. She thought about what she'd do if that had actually happened.

"In that case, I'd have to dedicate my every spare moment training to get better than him. Once I thought I was good enough, I'd challenge him to a rematch and beat him," Ranma said. She nodded again.

"What would have happened between Lillian and Hanadera," Shimako asked.

"Hmm... in that case, I think Kashiwagi-san would feel really good about getting revenge on me, and he'd stop it with the silent treatment. He'd probably gloat at me, but that would just be between him and me. Well, maybe Onee-sama, too. I guess Rosa Chinensis was also part of that, depending on how he felt. The rest of you would have been good, though, so as long as Rosa Foetida or Rosa Gigantea was the one doing the talking to them, it would have been fine. So no matter what happened in the fight, everything would be all worked out between our two schools. See? Just send them a challenge letter, and everything's fixed right up. Easy."

"Wait," Sachiko said. "Does that mean that Ookubo-san is currently dedicating his every spare moment training to beat you?"

"I hope so," Ranma said. She grinned.

Sachiko looked around the table. She said, "Boys are weird."

A few others nodded in agreement.

"Where on earth am I now!" The shout was loud enough to clearly penetrate the walls of the Rose Mansion.

"Speaking of weird boys, he's back," Sei said.

"Who's that?" Sachiko asked.

"Some strange boy who keeps showing up and asking for directions," Youko said.

"I'll get him," Ranma said. She grabbed one last forkful of cake before standing up and exiting the Rose Mansion into the cold afternoon air. She looked around for the eternally lost boy, but she didn't see him anywhere. From the window of the conference room, though, she saw the other members of the Yamayurikai pointing. Ranma followed their directions.

The eternally lost boy looked the same as always. When he caught sight of Ranma, he said, "H..h..hello."

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said. "Furinkan High School again?"

The eternally lost boy blushed. He said, "Y..yeah. Northwest?"

"Northeast," Ranma said.

"Thanks," the eternally lost boy said. "Uhh..."

"That way," Ranma said. She pointed. She then saw a problem. "No wait."

She walked over and grabbed him by the arm. The eternally lost boy's whole body went stiff. She pulled him a few meters to the side such that there wasn't a hedge directly in front of him. There was no reason to give the environmental care committee any more work than they already had.

"Now. That way," Ranma said. She pointed.

"T..thanks," the eternally lost boy said. He then started walking. He weaved left and right as he went.

* * *

17.

The hospital was a wooden structure which had probably been built hundreds of years ago. The only thing which kept it from being outright dilapidated was the obvious care and attention which had been put into its maintenance. Even so, it was a borderline case. The patches of discoloration in the walls showed where numerous holes had been repaired.

"Is this really the place?" Yoshino asked. Ever since recovering from her surgery, she had been entirely irrepressible. If she had started back when she was two-years old, she would have been an excellent rival.

"Looks about right to me," Ranma said. She walked past the open gate towards the building.

"Do you think Martial Arts Nursing is really real?" Yoshino asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" Ranma asked.

"It sounds kind of silly to me, like a bunch of cute girls running around in white minidresses handing out lollipops or something," Yoshino said.

"I hope so, or better, boys running around like that, too," Ranma said.

"What? Why?" Yoshino asked.

"The more specialized a martial art is, the stronger it is in that specialty," Ranma said. That frequently meant that it also had the crippling weakness of being overly specialized, but considering she was adopting techniques and not schools, that was perfectly acceptable. Martial Arts Sandcastle Building might be entirely useless in almost every situation, but if she were ever buried in a sandpit, she had the perfect technique to use.

"I see," Yoshino said. "So what do we do now?"

"We get the attention of the master of this school," Ranma said. She stopped and took a deep breath. "Hey! Who's the master of this place? Show yourself!"

Yoshino sent a questioning look to Ranma.

"We got to get their attention somehow."

"Okay," Yoshino said. She also took a deep breath. "Come on out, you coward!"

"Coward?" Ranma asked.

Yoshino shrugged to Ranma. Ranma shrugged back.

"Who're you calling a coward?" A large man wearing green scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck shoved his way out the door.

"Sorry, sorry," Yoshino said. She quickly bowed to the man.

"Is this the place for Martial Arts Nursing?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah," the man said. He moved his head in what could generously have been interpreted as a nod. "What of it?"

"I want you to show me. Uhh... show us," Ranma said.

"Is this some kind of joke? Don't waste my time," the man said. He turned around.

This was clearly a test. Masters were busy, and they hated wasting their time. This was normally when Genma would invent some convoluted story about why the master should demonstrate his techniques to them. Ranma wasn't willing to go that route, though. She needed to do something else to convince the man she was serious.

She looked around for inspiration and saw a potential idea. With a shout, she punched down with her fist, shattering the large rock beside her.

That caused the man to stop and turn around. He cast an evaluating glance over at Ranma and at the rubble she had created. He asked, "Is that supposed to impress me?"

Ranma reached down, picked up one of the sharp rock fragments, and slowly dragged it across her forearm. A bright trail of crimson streamed behind it.

Yoshino gasped. She exclaimed, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

Ranma disregarded Yoshino and directed the full weight of her challenge at the man. She said, "Oh no. I seem to have been cut. Whatever shall I do? If only there were somebody here who could help me somehow."

The man stared hard at Ranma. He grunted and flung his hand forward. A bandage flew out through the air and wrapped itself around Ranma's arm.

"Fine, kid. I guess I can show you some basics. Bring your friend along, too, if you want." He spat to the side and then barged back through the door of the hospital.

Ranma tapped at the bandage around her arm. It was secure, firm, and it completely covered her gash. She held it up to show Yoshino. "Take a look at this. Do you think that's a basic technique or an advanced one?"

Yoshino looked back with wide eyes. She asked, "Is it always like this?"

"Nah, it's usually harder," Ranma said. "Come on. Let's go check it out."

* * *

18.

Ranma ran around the small grove. She only had a few seconds to find a hiding place, and things did not look good for her. The scattering of well-tended trees around her were very scenic, but they did little to block any sight lines.

As she had no better ideas, Ranma decided that this was as good a time as any to try out those Umisenken techniques that Genma had demonstrated on that fateful night of the burglary. Irrespective of their origin, they were certainly very powerful, and she thought she had finally figured them out well enough to use in a non-training situation.

She adopted the slouching, ghost-like position of the initial form as she calmed herself. Genma had said that purging emotions was critical: act without intention, blend in with the surroundings, be like a tree in the forest.

Ranma slid to the side and off of the path.

Ookubo turned the corner. His eyes passed right over her, but he didn't stop. He kept running, apparently ignorant of the fact that Ranma was less than two meters away.

Ranma's practice had paid off. The warm satisfaction of accomplishment filled her.

"There you are!"

Ranma startled and looked behind her. Ookubo had turned around and was now running back at her.

"Eep!" Apparently she still needed more practice. She sprinted away, doubling back the way they had come.

As she ran, to her left across the field, Ranma saw Sachiko. She veered in her direction. "Onee-sama! Onee-sama! What should I do?"

"About what?" Sachiko asked.

"Ookubo-san," Ranma said.

"I don't know. Maybe you can send a challenge letter?" Sachiko asked.

"That's what got me into this mess in the first place!" Ranma shouted.

"Ranma-sama! Arrest me!" Ookubo shouted.

"Eep!" Ranma sprinted away and shouted behind her. "I told you, I'm a guy!"

"I don't care! I've been naughty! Punish me!" Ookubo shouted.

* * *

19.

Ranma spent a great deal of time in the ballroom practicing her martial arts. She was there again this evening, but this time it was special training.

She sat in a cross-legged position with a two stacks of textbooks beside her. She was currently holding her history book in front of her and was studying it intently.

Normally she wasn't that concerned about her grades. She frequently spent a fair bit of time reading anyway, considering books were one of the few forms of portable entertainment that could be taken while traveling in the wilderness, so even considering her erratic academic career, she usually did decently well. This was not a normal situation, though. It was of vital importance that she pass all of her upcoming exams.

It was a simple equation. Bad exam results equaled special training in remediation classes, equaled no break after exams, equaled no trip to France, equaled no exploration of the martial arts in the exotic west.

Ranma even had a new passport which promised her that she would be able to visit the land of rapier, boxing, glaive, wrestling, falchion, and who knew what else, if only she could get there.

That called for special measures. For the next few weeks, she would need to re-prioritize, taking hours away from her martial arts practice and instead allocating them to academic practice.

Sachiko looked into the ballroom and said, "You're quiet in here tonight. What are you doing?"

"Special training. Exams are coming up soon," Ranma said. She lifted her book so Sachiko could better see it.

Sachiko's eyes widened in surprise and she more fully walked into the ballroom. She asked, "Why are you sitting on your head?"

"Regular training," Ranma said. Just because she was studying was no reason for her to not be getting in some strength, balance, and endurance training as well.

* * *

20.

The eternally lost boy with the bandanna and the dusty tunic stared at the compass in his hands. He said, "This says it's that way." He pointed straight at Ranma.

"It does?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah. Here," the eternally lost boy said. He handed the compass over.

Ranma took it and immediately saw that something was wrong with it. The compass was pointing at her, and she was not facing south. She took a closer look and saw the problem.

"It's broken," Ranma said.

"What do you mean?" the eternally lost boy asked.

"The needle came off the point. It's stuck. See? If I turn, it keeps pointing at me," Ranma said. She turned left and right to demonstrate.

"That guy told me that it's supposed to always point in the same direction," the eternally lost boy said.

Ranma tossed the compass back and said, "That should be in the same direction on the Earth, not on itself. What's the point of a compass which doesn't point north?"

The eternally lost boy growled and crushed the compass in his hands. Between that and his crashing through that hedge, it made Ranma wonder exactly how strong he was. He could definitely be interesting to fight in a duel.

"You said it's that way?" the eternally lost boy asked. He pointed north.

"More like that way," Ranma said. She grabbed his arm, and his whole body stiffened at her touch. She turned him in the appropriate direction.

"T..t..thanks," the eternally lost boy said. He walked forward, meandering to the left and right as he moved.

Ranma didn't understand why the eternally lost boy found it so difficult to locate Furinkan High School. Nerima was just a few kilometers away, and once he got there, he had his map. Maybe one of these days when she had some spare time, she would just lead him there directly. Including the time to change into her tracksuit first, she could be there and back in under an hour.

She was taken out of her thoughts when the others walked forward to join her. Eriko asked, "You do know that he has a crush on you, right?"

"Who does?" Ranma asked. The only crush she knew of was Ookubo, and she didn't know how Eriko could think she didn't know about him already. By this point, she didn't know how anybody in Lillian could not know that Ookubo had a crush on her.

"That cute boy you were just talking to," Eriko said.

"He does?" Ranma asked.

"He does?" Sachiko asked.

"That sounds right to me," Rei said.

A pit of worry hit Ranma's stomach. She looked back and forth between Eriko and Rei. "Why do you say that?"

"He keeps showing up here and 'asking you for directions,'" Eriko said.

"You don't think he's just lost?" Ranma asked. There was a note of hopeful pleading in her question.

"No way. It's been weeks. He must have found Furinkan High School by now, if he was really looking for it," Eriko said.

"I'm sure he's just trying to get your attention, hoping that you'll notice him," Rei said.

"Is that how it works?" Sachiko asked.

"It can, sometimes," Youko said. "It does sound like a reasonable explanation. Nobody is that lost, and it's hard to imagine somebody who really is lost managing to stumble across Ranma-kun so frequently."

"Oh," Sachiko said.

The pit of worry in Ranma's stomach ballooned into outright dread. She had always just assumed that the eternally lost boy's sense of direction really was that bad. If it was all a ruse, though, then she didn't know what she would do.

"But he doesn't even know anything about me!" Ranma shouted desperately. She already had one unwanted suitor. She absolutely did not want a second one.

"I'm sure that doesn't matter. He's probably just thinking how cute you are," Sei said. "He must be trying to get up the nerve to introduce himself. Maybe ask you out on a date."

"He's going to be in for such a surprise when he finds out you're a boy," Eriko said. She sounded positively giddy.

"That might not matter that much. Just think of Ookubo-san," Sei said. Her voice lowered in pitch and took on the breathy quality of a mock yell. "Ranma-sama, punish me!"

"That's it!" Ranma stomped her foot down and pivoted to face Yoshino. "Next time he shows up, you deal with him!"

"Ookubo-san or that boy?" Yoshino asked.

"Both!"

* * *

21.

Ranma held the folded stack of papers in her hands. They held the final verdict, and she was worried. The exams had been much harder than the previous schools she had attended, and she wasn't at all confident with how they had turned out. She needed to pass each and every one of them or her hopes of France were dashed.

She mentally prepared herself for the worst and then unfolded the stack. The sight of the circled 72 on the top of the first page was a promising start. The next number was a 64, then an 80, then a 61, and so forth. She could feel the relief surging through her. She had passed.

They weren't the best grades ever. They were probably average, maybe. She would need to do better next time. As Sachiko had said, the Yamayurikai were supposed to be role models for everybody else to follow. Besides, Ranma hated being on the losing end of anything. That would be a challenge for another time, though. For the moment, she had definitely passed. She did not need special training, and she would be able to go on the trip to France.

Everything was good. Maybe.

Ranma looked over at Yoshino, another stab of worry hitting her. Yoshino looked back, reflecting Ranma's gaze. They made eye contact.

Ranma gave a hesitant nod. Yoshino gave a hesitant nod back. Ranma smiled and nodded more decisively. Yoshino did likewise.

Everything was good.

* * *

22.

France was even better than Ranma's grandest imaginings.

The food had come as a complete surprise. It was superb. Sayako's grande soeur, who was an absolute delight in any case, had gone so far as to help translate some of the recipes in the cookbooks Ranma had bought into Japanese. The upcoming cooking club meetings back in Japan were sure to be a delight.

And there were the martial arts. So many martial arts. Some Ranma had only heard myths and legends about, and some Ranma had never even heard about before.

"Onee-sama, look over there," Ranma said.

The building's sign was written in French, as could be expected, but this one was different. It had a Japanese subscript which clearly read, "Martial Arts Dining."

"Do you want to take a look?" Sachiko asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. It was difficult to imagine anything more perfect than food combined with martial arts.

They had only just eaten lunch, but the heady smells emerging from the building upon opening the door still caused Ranma to start salivating.

"Bonjour," a man at the front desk said.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said.

"Welcome. Come in," the man said in proficient, if accented, Japanese. "Are you, that is to say, interested in the Martial Arts Dining?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. "What is it?"

Sachiko stepped past Ranma and picked up a pamphlet written in Japanese on the desk.

The man said, "This is the, so you say, 'La Belle School of Martial Arts.'"

* * *

23.

Ranma levered the sandwich up and around. She maneuvered it high enough such that she was able to clamp it with her teeth. Once it was secure, it was an easy matter to tilt her head upwards and let gravity pull the sandwich into her mouth.

"That's considered elegant?" Eriko asked.

"That's what they said," Sachiko said.

"How is that at all elegant?" Sei asked.

Ranma had her mouth full so she couldn't directly answer. She instead held both of her hands open in front of her and shook them.

"They said you aren't allowed to use your hands. That's the pinnacle of elegant eating, according to them," Sachiko said.

"Westerners are weird," Sei said.

"I think it's just them," Sachiko said. "Nobody else in France ate like that."

"That's Martial Arts Dining?" Yoshino asked. "That's really silly."

Ranma finished swallowing her sandwich. She asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean how is that a martial art? What are you supposed to do with it?" Yoshino asked.

"Everything's useful somehow," Ranma said. It was one of the core tenants of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. There was a situation for every technique. And even if that situation never occurred, there was still value to be had in the preparation and training needed to learn it.

"How could that be useful?" Shimako asked.

"Like..." Ranma looked up in thought. "... like what if somebody kidnaps me and ties up my hands and feet, but leaves a key next to me."

"Things like that don't happen," Yoshino said.

"It could," Ranma said. She didn't foresee it, but there were countless things she hadn't foreseen that had happened to her in the past. It was good to know that if such an eventuality ever did occur, she would be ready for it.

"I still think it's silly," Yoshino said.

"It probably is more impressive when the masters of the school do it. Do you want to see? Their headquarters is here in Tokyo," Ranma said. If some of the others wanted to go, she would be happy to join them. It would be interesting to compare the main branch against the French branch to see if there were any regional differences, and the food had been delicious.

"You don't want to go see them," Sachiko said.

"Why not?" Rei asked.

"The people there? They all had mouths this big," Sachiko said. She emoted pulling her mouth wide with her hands until they were about a meter apart from each other.

"You're joking," Rei said. She and the others looked to Ranma in a silent request for confirmation.

"That was more their tongues," Ranma said. She emoted using her hands to pull her mouth about half a meter wide. "Their mouths were more like this."

"Eww..."

Youko walked into the room, putting a stop to the tangent the group had taken during the meeting's pause. Everybody was more curious as to what the incoming phone call had been, so turned their attention to her.

"It was the headmistress," Youko said, answering the unasked question.

"Really? What did she want?" Sei asked.

Youko resumed her seat at the large table. She said, "It seems that we will be getting another transfer student tomorrow."

"Another one? This late in the year?" Eriko asked.

"Apparently," Youko said.

"What do we know about her?" Eriko asked.

"Her name is Ukyou Kuonji. She grew up denying her womanhood for some reason and is now trying to rediscover it," Youko said.

The name struck Ranma. It sounded familiar for some reason.

"That sounds familiar for some reason," Sachiko said.

Sachiko's echoing of what Ranma had been thinking startled her. She looked around to see that everybody was looking at her.

"What are the chances she's also been to China and has got a terrible father?" Eriko asked.

"She doesn't have a curse at least. The headmistress checked," Youko said.

A few of the girls nodded.

"Is something wrong?" Sachiko asked Ranma.

"Not really. It's just I think I knew an Ukyou once," Ranma said. She thought harder. She had vague recollections of okonomiyaki for some reason.

"Do you know her?" Shimako asked.

Ranma realized why the name sounded so familiar. Early in her training trip, she had known an Ukyou. They had sparred, as far as children could; it was more playing than anything. It couldn't have been the same person, though.

"Nah. Ucchan was a boy," Ranma said.

* * *

24.

"Gokigenyou," Tanezaki said. "Today I have the pleasure of introducing a new classmate. This is Ukyou Kuonji-san." She wrote the name on the blackboard. "She will be joining us in the First-year Chrysanthemum Group. She has been traveling around Japan training in martial arts for the past several years. I hope you will all join me in welcoming her. Would you like to say anything, Kuonji-san?"

Ukyou looked uncomfortable in her sailor dress. One of her hands held her book bag, but the other one kept minutely flexing, as if reaching behind her back for something. What that something was, though, Ranma couldn't tell. She hadn't seen anything there, except for Ukyou's long, flowing, dark hair.

"I am Ukyou Kuonji. I've spent the past 10 years of my life training to be a master of Martial Arts Okonomiyaki. Due to a variety of reasons, I threw away my womanhood. However, recently circumstances have changed, and I would like to rediscover it. I hope you all will take good care of me," Ukyou said. She bowed to the class.

The comment of okonomiyaki was certainly an interesting coincidence with Ranma's memory of the Ukyou she had known, but Ranma dismissed it as a mere coincidence. That Ukyou had been a boy, after all.

"Thank you very much, Kuonji-san. Over here is Ami Waki-san." Ami nodded in response. "She is the class representative, and you can ask her for any assistance you may need.

"Ranma Saotome-san," Ranma nodded when called, and Ukyou visibly jolted at that point, "is Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur.

"And Yoshino Sumazu-san," Yoshino nodded when called, but she received much less reaction from Ukyou, who went back to looking at Ranma, "is Rosa Foetida en bouton petite soeur.

"Both of them of them are members of the Yamayurikai, and I'm sure they would also be happy to assist you as well. Now, there appears to be a free seat near Yume Kohara-san. Can you please raise your hand?" Yume raised her hand. "If you would please take a seat."

Ukyou walked over to the empty desk. As she moved, she continued to stare at Ranma, and notably at her chest and her hair. It was enough to cause Ranma to brush her hand through her hair and look down at herself in concern, but as far as she could tell, there was nothing wrong with her appearance. She had no stains, no rumples, and her neckerchief was properly tied and arrayed.

Halfway to her seat, Ukyou shook her head and stopped staring at Ranma.

In contrast, the others in the class did not relent. They continued to stare at Ukyou as she sat down and directed her attention to the front of the classroom. Tanezaki's beginning of classes put a stop that, though, and forced everybody to limit themselves to only small glances here and there towards the new addition to their class.

Lunch couldn't come fast enough. Ranma was intensely curious as to what Martial Arts Okonomiyaki entailed, and the moment it began, she rose to her feet and started walking over to ask. However, several other girls who were closer had already beaten her there. They crowded around Ukyou's desk, surrounding the girl.

"Which club do you plan on joining?"

"Have you ever been to China?"

"What is Martial Arts Okonomiyaki?"

"What was your previous school?"

"What's your blood type?"

Tsutako had even appeared in the doorway. How she had known to come and had arrived so quickly was a mystery, but she was snapping photograph after photograph of the overwhelmed Ukyou.

As curious as Ranma was, she couldn't in good conscious add to the confusion.

Ranma lightly coughed. It caused everybody in the room, in particular those surrounding Ukyou's desk, to turn and look at her. She said, "I thought we had decided a modest introduction was more befitting of our school."

"Of course, Ranma-san," Natsumi said. The crowd dispersed from around Ukyou's desk.

"On behalf of the class, I apologize. Please don't judge us too harshly. Transfer students are always a cause for excitement, and everybody would just like to learn more about you. If anybody gives you any trouble, please let me know, and I'll make sure it's taken care of," Ranma said. She thought back to her own entry into Lillian. "That includes the members of the newspaper club."

"Thanks," Ukyou said.

Ranma turned away to join the waiting Yoshino. As the weather had turned colder, Ranma, Yoshino, and Shimako had migrated to the Rose Mansion to eat their shared lunches, and Ranma didn't want to keep the others waiting. While she still had questions for Ukyou, they could wait for another time, after Ukyou had had a chance to settle in.

"Wait!" Ukyou shouted. Ranma turned around and faced her again. "Is your name really Ranma Saotome?"

"It is," Ranma said.

"Did you..." Ukyou faltered. "Are you..." Ukyou tried again before shaking her head. "Never mind."

* * *

Author's Notes:

There is an interesting story behind "Finding the Silver." Appropriately enough, it is a crossover of two ideas.

To begin with, I had been looking for a crossover of "Maria-sama ga Miteru" and "Ranma 1/2" for a considerable number of years. I was never able to find one, though.

Additionally, I had been trying to put together an entirely different "Ranma 1/2" story. However, in that story, I kept thinking, "Ranma should choose to embrace femininity here," or "and here it is revealed that Ranma has been a girl all along." The problem was that none of that was actually relevant to that different story.

Those are the two ideas which came together as the basis of this story. I thought I could address both of those things at once by writing a quick 5000-word flashfic. Obviously that didn't happen.

Overall, I think that change to a novel was a good thing, too. There is a great deal of emergent storytelling which occurs when you aren't able to just scene-skip over things and have to think through both the setup and consequences of a scene. For example, I had not expected Yoshino and Shimako to play as large a role as they did in this story, and Ranma's decision to reject the headmistress's offer had been the exact opposite of what I had intended.

This applies to large-scale things like plot and theme as well. For example, consider the title of this story. I had originally intended "Finding the Silver" in the sense of the proverb "every cloud has a silver lining." This was in regard to Ranma's curse leading him to a better circumstances. This was soon expanded to include Genma realizing the larcenous potential of the curse. This later expanded further to include the idea of "silver" representing both tangible things, such as the precious minerals Genma sought, and intangible things, such as the precious relationships Ranma found.

That wasn't the only thing which had expanded in meaning as I wrote this. There are considerably more similes, metaphors, and analogies throughout this story than I had expected at the start. In addition to the idea of "silver," there are also Sachiko's circumstances, Shimako's circumstances, Sei's circumstances, the story of Cinderella, the story of the penitent thief, and numerous other things. I was surprised and happy with how many of them there turned out to be. I'm hoping that if somebody were to reread this story, they'd pick up on more of them than on their first reading.

Regardless, that does bring us to the end of this reading. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Gokigenyou.

* * *

Temporary Author's Notes:

The following are several more epilogue scenes. However, they are far more distant in the future. I don't like the idea of having several months of breaks in the epilogue, as it doesn't really flow together, and it raises questions of what else has been happening in the large gap in the middle. As such, I'm just noting them for now for fun. I'll most likely end up deleting them later.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

25.

"Why do you need so many mats?" Sachiko asked.

"I don't want anybody to get hurt during the scavenger hunt," Ranma said. She was carrying four sets of practice mats with her. She had a few more trips to make to ensure the primary gym was properly prepared.

"Why would somebody get hurt? Are you planning on hiding your card somewhere dangerous?"

"Not dangerous exactly."

"Ranma."

"Okay, okay. I'm not planning on hiding it at all."

"You aren't?"

"Nah. What's the fun of that? I'm going to put it on a table in the center of the primary gym where everybody can see it."

"Then what's to stop the first girl passing by from taking it?"

"Me," Ranma said. It would be a challenge for her, too, as she would need to restrain herself from actually hurting anybody. She figured she had great odds of lasting the whole hunt, unless everybody banded together and attacked at once. Regardless, though, it was sure to be a lot of fun.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

26.

"We need to stop calling each other '-san' all the time," Ranma said.

Yoshino almost coughed out the tea in her mouth. She swallowed hard and then asked, "What brought that on?"

"Onee-sama and Rei-sama call each other using yobisute. Youko-sama, Eriko-sama, and Sei-sama do, too," Ranma said.

"So?" Shimako asked.

"We're at least as close to each other as they are, aren't we? So why are we losing out to them?" Ranma asked. She hated losing.

"It... it's not that easy!" Yoshino exclaimed.

"It isn't?" Ranma asked. "Yes it is, Yoshino. See?"

"R..Ranma," Yoshino said. She valiantly held it for a full quarter second before she exclaimed, "Huawaa!" She stamped her feet on the ground. "D..d..don't you feel embarrassed?"

"Should I?" Ranma asked. "Shimako, what do you think?"

"I don't know, R..Ranma," Shimako said. She held it for half a second before she exclaimed, "Huawaa! It feels all weird." Shimako raised both her hands to cover her face.

"I know. Doesn't it?" Yoshino asked.

"Come on. You can do it. We can't lose to the onee-samas," Ranma said.

"Right. Fight on... Ranma! Are you in... Shimako?" Yoshino asked.

"I guess so, Yoshino..." Shimako said.

"See? Easy," Ranma said.

"Uwawaa!" Yoshino and Shimako both exclaimed.

Sometimes Ranma didn't understand either of them, but that was okay. That was part of what made it so fun.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

27.

Ranma hit the high note with the force of a hammer. A metaphorical hammer in this case, as she wasn't actually fighting anybody. Still, it required an appropriate application of fighting spirit to get a singing voice to come out properly. She held it. And held it. And held it.

Singing soprano had always been the most fun of the suites of Martial Arts Karaoke. She had thought she wouldn't ever be able to use that set of techniques again after her had voice changed. She had been wrong.

And held it. And held it. And held it.

And finally Ranma let her voice descend. She quickly came to the end of the song, held it for a few moments longer, and then let it echo and fade in the large room.

A stunned audience stared at her.

Ranma took a modest bow. When she rose again, she smirked at Yukari: challenge met and conquered.

Yukari sent a scowl back at her.

Ranma heard a wheeze. Then a chortle. Then a definite laugh. It wasn't quite the outcome she had expected, but compared to the statue-like silence which great-grandmother Saionji had responded to all the member of her family, her laughter was certainly remarkable.

Ranma gave her a modest bow to her as well before walking back to Sachiko.

"Umm... uhh... yes," the master of ceremonies said, trying to recover from the unexpected outcome. "How about a round of applause?"

There was a scattering of clapping from the assembled family. When great-grandmother Saionji started clapping as well, the others in the room became more enthusiastic with their applause.

Once Ranma got close enough to Sachiko for them to be able to speak without drawing undue attention, Sachiko said, "You never told me you could sing."

"Didn't I?" Ranma asked.

"Where did, I mean, what kind of martial arts is that?" Sachiko asked.

"Karaoke," Ranma said. She scratched the back of her head. "Are you sure I never told you?"

"You might have. I don't know. They all kind of blend together after a while," Sachiko said.

"Exactly," Ranma said. That was precisely the point of Anything Goes Martial Arts.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

28.

Ranma dipped her hand into a cup of cold water by the door before saying, "I'm leaving."

"Why did you change?" Sachiko asked.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"Just now, you changed into a girl," Sachiko said.

"I'm going to go visit Yoshino. And... umm..." Ranma said, but she trailed off. Why had she changed into her female form? It wasn't a school function, and Yoshino definitely knew she was a boy. Her parents knew, too. "I'm usually a girl when I see Yoshino. It just feels more natural, I guess."

That had to be it.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

29.

"There's a restroom over there," Yoshino said as they walked down the long airport hallway.

"Oh? Did you need to use it?" Ranma asked.

Yoshino blushed. She said, "Not for me. For you."

"Me? I'm fine," Ranma said.

"Not for that," Yoshino said. Her blush intensified. "I meant aren't you aren't going to change?"

Ranma looked down at herself. Her Lillian sailor dress seemed fine enough. The long plane trip from Japan to Italy had rumpled some of the sharp creases of her skirt's pleats, but they were in no worse condition than anybody else's. She said, "Should I? Nobody else is."

"I think she was asking if you wanted to get some hot water and change into a boy. That might be the last restroom before immigration," Shimako said.

"What about it?" Ranma asked.

"You don't really look much like a boy right now, and I know you're a lot shorter as a girl," Yoshino said. "Aren't you afraid they'll arrest you or something?"

"Oh. No, that's not a problem. I have a female passport, too," Ranma said. She flipped the booklet open and showed her photograph to Yoshino and Shimako. The picture was of her in her female form wearing a formal kimono.

"You have both a male passport and a female passport? How did you do that?" Shimako asked.

"I don't know. Mr. Ogasawara arranged it. I just needed to go to some office and show them the transformation a few times," Ranma said.

"Wait. Does that mean you'll be spending this whole trip as a girl?" Yoshino asked.

"Yeah. This is a school function, after all," Ranma said.

"You don't think that's weird?" Yoshino asked.

"Why would it be weird?" Ranma asked.

"You're a boy, aren't you?" Yoshino asked.

"Ehh, it's not that big a deal," Ranma said. She didn't see why being a girl full-time for a week would be a problem. She had done it before, when visiting the Ogasawara's summer home. If anything, she was more comfortable that way, seeing how she was always a girl around all her classmates anyway.

Although that wasn't exactly right, either. As the months had progressed, she had spent increasingly more time as a girl. There was the Hanadera school festival, the surprise party, the visit to the rose garden, the various martial arts dojos, and several others. It had gotten to the point that sometimes she didn't even bother changing back into her male form before going to sleep.

There were her friends, too. They knew she was a boy, but they knew her as a girl.

And now that she thought about it, ignoring her martial arts, all of her happy memories were as a girl, and her martial arts were hardly exclusive to her male form.

A year ago, the headmistress had offered for her to join Lillian as a girl who turned into a boy. She had flatly turned it down because that wasn't who she was. Now, though, she wasn't so sure. She thought might be more comfortable as a girl, irrespective of everything else.

"What are you thinking of?" Yoshino asked.

"What?" Ranma asked. She noticed that Yoshino and Shimako were both looking at her closely.

"Your face looked like it was going through life's many phases," Shimako said.

"That's a good description," Yoshino said.

"Nothing important," Ranma said. She might not be sure what she was anymore, but she did know who she was, and in the end, that was what really mattered.

* * *

Temporary Author's Notes:

The following are several more epilogue scenes. However, I couldn't get them to fit in for a variety of reasons. These almost certainly will be removed later.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

A.

Ranma flicked out with the rhythmic gymnastics ribbon and snapped it forward. If he did it just right, he could use it to bounce the hoop off of the ground. Another twist and it was properly tied up at the end of the ribbon, ready to be pulled in or swung around in a large arc. It definitely felt like a promising start.

As he was doing so, he noticed some footsteps behind him, and he caught a glimpse of Mr. Ogasawara out of the corner of his eye. It was only when Mr. Ogasawara gave a light cough that Ranma snapped the hoop back into his hand and turned to face him.

"You seem to be using the ballroom a great deal," Mr. Ogasawara said.

"Yeah. It's pretty good," Ranma said. He scratched the back of his head. "Is that a problem?" In hindsight, he had never actually asked if he could use the space for practicing martial arts. It had always been empty, and he had just assumed it would be okay.

"No, no. We only use it when we're hosting big parties. As long as you clear it out before those, it's fine," Mr. Ogasawara said.

"Sure," Ranma said. He looked down. He didn't see how clearing out his stuff could be an issue in any case. He only had a hoop and a ribbon.

"I noticed that you do some, shall we say, impressive martial arts," Mr. Ogasawara said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good," Ranma said.

"I was thinking about making you a deal. If you teach Sachiko-san some self-defense, we'll get some equipment so you can turn this into a part-time dojo," Mr. Ogasawara said.

That sounded very promising. Getting some mats, targets, and other equipment really would help quite a bit. And it'd be fun to share something with Sachiko, too.

"Sure."

"Great. But don't do anything too crazy," Mr. Ogasawara said.

Ranma didn't understand. He asked, "What do you mean 'crazy?'"

* * *

Temporary Omake:

B.

"These are my daughters: Akane, sixteen; Nabiki, seventeen; Kasumi, nineteen. Pick the one you want. She'll be your fiancee," Mr. Tendo said.

"No," Ranma said. He had already seen the trouble that an arranged marriage could bring about, and he had absolutely no desire to bring that upon himself. That was doubly true for a girl he had never met before.

Kasumi looked relieved. Akane did as well, although that quickly turned to anger for some reason. Of the three girls, only Nabiki looked at all disappointed.

"You have to choose one!" Genma shouted. It was a far cry from the confident, and more sensible, assertions of Youko and the others.

"No I don't," Ranma said.

"Honor demands it," Genma said.

Ranma immediately saw the flaw with that argument. He said, "Yours, maybe. I never promised anything."

"You'd bring shame upon your own father?" Genma asked.

"You bring enough shame to yourself. Since when do you care about honor?" Ranma asked.

"Fine then," Genma said. He pointed a finger at Ranma. "I challenge you. If I win, you need to marry one of Tendo's daughters."

A few months ago, Ranma would have immediately accepted the challenge out of reflex. That was before. Ranma said, "That is entirely unreasonable. I refuse."

Genma glowered and postured in a hostile, aggressive stance. Ranma remained calm, ready to defend himself but otherwise not reacting to the threat.

"You can't decline a challenge!" Genma shouted.

"Why not? Seems easy enough," Ranma asked.

"It's one of the rules of being a practitioner of Anything Goes Martial Arts. You have to accept any and all challenges," Genma said. To the side, Mr. Tendo nodded.

"It's a good thing Anything Goes Martial Arts doesn't really care about rules," Ranma said.

"I'll kick you out of the school if you don't accept this challenge," Genma said.

Ranma shrugged. He was a master at adapting anyway, and this barely even counted as a challenge. He said, "Okay. Do it. I'll just form the Ranma School of Indiscriminate Grappling instead."

"A school named after yourself. You think anybody's going to take you seriously?" Genma asked.

"Then I'll call it the Ogasawara School of Indiscriminate Grappling. I'm sure they won't mind," Ranma said.

"Did you just say Ogasawara?" Nabiki asked. "As in the Ogasawara Group, that Ogasawara?"

"I think so," Ranma said. He was sure he had heard them mentioning the Ogasawara Group sometimes when Mr. Ogasawara talked about work.

"Do you know them?" Kasumi asked.

"Do I? They're just one of the riches families in all of Japan!" Nabiki exclaimed. She picked up a magazine on the table and held it up. It had a picture of Mr. Ogasawara on the cover.

"That's him," Ranma said.

"Does that mean that you're..." Nabiki said. "I'll take the engagement!"

"Excellent," her father said. He clapped onto Ranma's back. "I'm sure you two will get along well. Welcome to the family."

"I told you no," Ranma said.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

C.

Ranma shook out her umbrella. The rain had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving puddles of water everywhere. Even the after-rain air in France smelled different than Japan.

"Look over there," Sachiko said, pointing with her umbrella. In the alleyway, somebody had abandoned a huge backpack there.

"That's strange. How do you just forget something like that?" Ranma asked. She started walking closer to get a better look when a small pig appeared from behind it. It squealed at her.

"Pigs, too. Weird," Ranma said.

"I think it's somebody's pet," Sachiko said.

"Why do you think that?" Ranma asked.

"Look. Somebody tied a bandanna around it," Sachiko said. "I wonder if it's has the same owner as the backpack?"

The pig did have a spotted bandanna around it. It looked familiar for some reason.

The pig gave another squeal. Several of them. It could have been Ranma's imagination, but she thought it sounded like it was frustrated. It then grabbed one of the straps of the backpack and started pulling it. Ranma couldn't help but notice that the pig was dragging it northeast.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

D.

Yoshino could already feel the difference from her surgery. The twinge of asynchrony within her was gone. She was still in pain, but it was better than it had been the day before, and that in turn was better than two days earlier. In time, she was expected to make a full recovery.

Her biggest regret was that she had not done it earlier. If she had had the surgery back when she had been a child, she might have been able to join the kendo team, or the track team, or any number of other clubs and activities she had always been interested in. As it was, she was years behind and knew she would never catch up. However, at least now she could start trying to.

"But enough about that. How was the tournament?" Yoshino asked. She didn't regret missing it as such, considering she had needed to have her surgery concurrent with Rei's competition in order to properly motivate herself. Nevertheless, she was disappointed.

"It was surprisingly interesting," Ranma said.

"I heard it was really close. It must have been exciting," Yoshino said. From what she had heard from Rei, it had been exceptionally dramatic.

"What? No, not that," Ranma said. She then quickly corrected herself. "No, I mean yes, it was. It was real close. Lillian and that other school were almost tied in strength, but we won in the end. It was by judge's decision, but a win's a win, right? But I was talking about the boys' tournament."

"It was more exciting than the girls' tournament? How do you get more close than a judge's decision in a playoff round?" Yoshino asked. This was a part she hadn't heard about. Rei had naturally been so occupied with her own match and its aftermath that she hadn't paid attention to anything else.

"No. It wasn't close at all. One school completely dominated it. They crushed everybody," Ranma said.

"Dominated?" Yoshino exclaimed. While it caused her a twinge of pain from her surgery scar, it didn't bring with it the quickness of cramp which had become habitual throughout her life. The lack of warning felt good. "How can one school dominating be considered interesting?"

"Their captain was crazy good. I mean he was good and crazy. He called himself the Blue Thunder, and he kept ranting at all his opponents after he beat them, like an old samurai or something."

"Samurai didn't rant at their opponents," Yoshino said. She had read enough books to know that. There would be long speeches at the beginning of a fight to trace lineage and accomplishments, to make sure the fight was appropriate and proper honor was won by the victor. Ranting at an opponent after defeating them was not part of the ceremony.

"I meant he talked like an old samurai. He used lots of weird language. It was hard to even understand what he was saying sometimes."

"Well, that certainly is interesting," Yoshino said. She was more interested in the actual fighting itself, but drama outside of the fight could be engaging as well.

"Yeah, that's what I meant, but that's not it, either. I said he was good. I mean he was good. Real good. Maybe even better than me with a shinai," Ranma said wistfully. She raised her voice and hastened to add, "But only with a shinai. I'd beat him in a real all-out fight, no problem."

Yoshino giggled. If there was one thing she had learned over the past few weeks, Ranma did take pride in her martial arts. She said, "It sounds like you regret not being able to face him."

"Maybe. If I really cared, I could find him and issue a challenge. I got their school name, after all."

"Are you going to?" Yoshino asked.

"No way. Didn't you hear what I said? That guy was crazy. Who knows what would happen if we fought? If he beat me, he might decide he owned me or something, and if I beat him, he might do the same thing. It's better to avoid people like that whenever you can."

* * *

Temporary Omake:

E.

He was a former Olympic medalist. He was one of the premiere French fencers. He was also reduced to teaching classes for entitled bourgeois brats. The sponsorships had never been great, and he needed to eat somehow. It wasn't the perfect life, but it could have been worse. At least he knew the drill and what was expected of him by now.

Admittedly it was less common for the child in question to be a girl than a boy, but he could still see the symptoms. The idle playing around with the epee, bending it back and forth like a kid who had received a new toy for Christmas. The bored look as he talked about posture and stance. The insistent nudging, albeit through a translator, asking if he could speed up his instruction. The diagnosis was clear. The only thing which was missing was a cape, a domino mask, and a broad-brimmed hat.

The rich little princess must have watched "Zorro," or read "The Three Musketeers," or whatever. She had gotten it into her pretty little head that she wanted to learn how to fight with a rapier, and then bugged her doting parents to sign her up for some classes. She wanted to learn some fancy moves just like in the movies. It was only a matter of time before she moved on to her next fad. He would be surprised to see her for a second class, and he was sure she wouldn't last six. She had no idea of the amount of work needed to actually become a real master of the blade. He could have spent a year teaching footwork alone, but they always wanted to learn the flashy swordplay.

He couldn't complain too much, though. In the end, it did pay the bills, and quite a generously at that. Private classes were not cheap, especially last-minute classes. So he was willing to humor the girl.

If he showed off a fancy move to her, that would be enough to get her attention. He could then demonstrate to her the flashy trick she was after. She'd walk away satisfied with the new thing she could show off at her next birthday party or whatever. With that in mind, he took a position on the mat across from the girl.

"On guard. Ready? Go!"

The girl must have been confused. Maybe it was the French he spoke. Regardless, she hadn't moved at all. She still held the epee in her hand as he had shown her and had notionally taken the position he had said. However, the clarity of focus at the start of hostilities was absent in her. She seemed more distracted than anything. It was exactly as he expected of a vapid spoiled princess.

He thrust forward lightly.

That's when things became a blur. His weapon clanked as it was knocked aside by something, and he felt a hand grip his right forearm, pulling him forward. Meanwhile, there was a blur barely seen out of the corner of his helmet. Without quite knowing how, he found himself being held back by extraordinarily strong hands, his right arm pinned behind his back while the edge of the girl's epee was held against his neck like a huge knife. The feat was all the more impressive, and intimidating, considering how the girl was about half a meter shorter than him.

It was a blatantly illegal move, but it did prove the point.

She held him for two seconds. She then said something in that that gibberish language of hers while she shove him forward. She turned to the translator and continued her flow of words.

"She is asking me... to convince you... to take this more seriously... and to show her some real things," the man said. The girl continued to speak, ignoring the concurrent French translation of her words. "She is rather dismissive of your abilities... and is comparing it to an old woman... with a broomstick... who is using it in an unorthodox way... in a very unorthodox way... it is not a favorable comparison for you."

It caused him to examine the girl again. Now that he actually took a closer look, behind the short and very feminine physique, visible even under the protective gear he had insisted she wear, there was something to her. She had the muscles of an athlete, and moved with the assured grace of a ballerina. He had initially disregarded her arrogance as just being symptomatic of the aristocracy as a whole, but that may have been a mistake. Maybe she actually did have what it took. A different approach was in order.

"I see. Let's start over then. I'll need to see what she can already do before I can teach her. Ask her to try to follow me."

He took a stance. With some satisfaction, he saw her adopt a reasonably close imitation. He lunged forward, and she was able to match his movement passably well. She almost managed to match his distance, which considering her much smaller stature was impressive and spoke well of her flexibility. He then tried a fleche, which she likewise matched, albeit slower and more controlled.

Apparently this class would be more interesting than he had originally feared.

* * *

Temporary Omake:

F.

It should have been easy, but somehow, it was so hard. It was just a simple conversation. It wasn't even a conversation, it would just be four sentences. That was all Sachiko would need to say.

On the other hand, she knew how much this meant to her parents. They would occasionally make comments about how good a person Suguru was, or how he had recently become the student council president of Hanadera, and wasn't he just the perfect match for Sachiko? They weren't even close to subtle.

Sachiko could see why her parents were so enamored with him, too. In addition being a cousin, and thus keeping the Ogasawara Group closer to the family if he were to take it over, Suguru was perfect, at least on paper. Handsome. Sophisticated. Cultured. Intelligent. Student council president.

Never mind that beneath that, he was narcissistic, selfish, homosexual, duplicitous, and dishonorable. In terms of a show marriage it would have been perfect. Suguru really was correct. If they did marry, and both of them had affairs on the side, it really would be convenient.

However, Sachiko wanted more out of her marriage. She wanted somebody she could love, cherish, trust, confide, and share the rest of her life with. And that was assuming Suguru really could be relied upon to not abuse his position as her husband, which Sachiko wasn't fully convinced was true, given his recent attack. She wanted nothing to do with him.

And yet, her parents wanted it so badly.

Youko had said that she should bring it up with her parents and annul the engagement. Youko certainly had Sachiko's best interests in mind, and she had been a reliable source of good advice over the past year and a half.

And yet, her parents wanted it so badly.

In contrast, there was Ranma. Poor Ranma, the good child in an impossible situation. The boy who had cast aside a literal fortune in stolen goods as well as his own father, the only family he had ever known, just because it was the right thing to do.

Surely if her own petite soeur could do something that drastic, she herself could say four sentences. Was not the grande soeur supposed to be the one setting the example?

Sachiko walked over to where her parents were sitting in a drawing room and said, "Father? Mother? I'd like to speak with you about Suguru-san."

* * *

Temporary Omake:

G.

Akane sat at the dining table, along with Nabiki and Kasumi. Her father had called an urgent family meeting, and she was not happy with the subject.

Apparently he had had some agreement with a friend and former training partner, and they had agreed that their children were to be married. That meant that either Akane, Nabiki, or Kasumi would end up engaged to some random boy they had never met. Of the three, Nabiki seemed the most excited at the prospect. Kasumi seemed disinterested. For her part, Akane found the idea terrible in all definitions of the word.

"I've never met him," her father said, admitting he knew almost nothing about Ranma except his name.

A knock at the door drew away their attention.

"Oh? We have a visitor," Kasumi said. She rose to her feet.

"It must be Ranma!" Nabiki squealed. She ran for the door, running past Kasumi as she went.

"Saotome! Old friend! We've been waiting!" her father shouted, running right behind Nabiki.

Akane also rose to her feet, more circumspect and much more hesitant. She found the idea of an arranged marriage to a boy she had never seen before both depressing and scary. Hopefully Nabiki would be the one to take it.

"Saotome! Good to see you again! Come in!" Her father's greeting could be heard from all the way down the hallway.

Akane and Kasumi stepped aside as Mr. Saotome walked into the house. He was a middle-aged man with a portly stomach. He wore a dingy formerly-white keikogi, a pair of glasses on his face, and a bandanna around his head.

More to the point, carried over his shoulder like a sack of rice was a boy. He was another issue entirely. He was young, probably in his mid-teens. He wore a silk shirt and pants, both of which clung to his defined muscles. He had a pleasant face, and his hair was tied into a pigtail. He was rather cute, although Akane would never admit it out loud.

He was also unconscious.

Nabiki poked at the head of the boy and asked, "Is that Ranma-kun?"

"What happened, my friend?" her father asked.

Mr. Saotome walked forward, led by her father, into the living room. He said, "I didn't want to tell you, but you deserve to know. For the sake of our promise to each other, you need to know."

"What is it? Is there a problem?" her father asked.

"My son. My only son," Mr. Saotome said. They had reached the living room, and Mr. Saotome dropped Ranma off his shoulder such that he landed on the ground below. "He's had a terrible training accident."

"Is that why he's unconscious?" Akane asked. She joined with Kasumi and Nabiki to hover around the boy, poking him to check for any reaction.

"Yes. The thing is, I had heard of this ultimate martial arts technique. Naturally I had only wanted the best for my boy, so I had him engage in the training," Mr. Saotome said. Tears started to steam down from his eyes.

"Naturally," her father said.

"If only I had known what would happen, I would never have done it. It's so terrible," Mr. Saotome said.

"What was this terrible training?" her father asked, tears starting to drop down his face as well.

"I was to wrap him up in gems, shoes, makeup, and stock certificates, and then throw him into a room with a bunch of girl," Mr. Saotome said.

"What?" Akane asked skeptically. Her first impression of Mr. Saotome hadn't been the strongest one, and this story he was telling wasn't helping. This sounded utterly ridiculous. It had to be made up.

"Gems? Stocks? Really," Nabiki said. She learned in closer.

"It was terrible. The girls all clawed at him, trying to take whatever they could. It was insanity. It was enough to drive a boy mad. In fact, it did drive him mad. Only then did I know the true fearsome might of the Onna-ken."

"The Onna-ken?" her father asked.

Akane couldn't believe it. Not only was "Girl Fist" a ridiculous sounding technique, the story was even more ridiculous. She couldn't understand how anybody could actually believe any part of this.

"Yes. The Onna-ken. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I wouldn't have believed it. But it's true. All of that madness, the clawing, the fighting... It drove him crazy. Now he... he... he..."

"He?" her father asked.

"Now he thinks he's a girl!" Mr. Saotome shouted, raging at the injustice of the world before breaking down into sobs.

Her father started sobbing as well. The two of them clung to each other and cried into the other's shoulder.

"That is a tragedy. Such a tragedy," her father said. "But Ranma-kun's still a boy, right? In truth? So the marriage can still go forward. Not all is lost."

"Father..." Akane said. She would have gone on further, but she was interrupted by a groan from the ground.

"Ohh... What happened?" Ranma asked, his hand reaching for his forehead as he spoke.

Ranma pushed himself over and then up into a sitting position. "Where am I?" He looked around. He caught sight of Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi. He then said, "Oh. Gokigenyou." He added a moderately respectful bow of greeting to them.

Akane looked at Nabiki and Kasumi, all of whom exchanged glances. The aristocratic greeting would have sounded out of place on even Kasumi's lips.

"Good afternoon," Kasumi said with a small bow, along with Akane and Nabiki.

"Might I bother to ask you, where is this place?" Ranma asked. It sounded a bit odd to Akane. Given how Mr. Saotome's story had primed her to listen to it, she noticed it was definitely a touch formal and had what sounded like feminine speech pattern to it.

"Now you see, the extent of the tragedy of the Onna-ken?" Mr. Saotome asked. Her father nodded vigorously in response.

"It's the Tendo Dojo," Akane said. "Your... father? He brought you here."

Ranma looked over to where the two adults were sitting. He then said, "I see. Gokigenyou." Ranma bowed again. "Would you be that friend of my father's who he mentioned was living in Tokyo?"

"Yes." He then walked over to Akane. "And these are my daughters: Akane, sixteen; Nabiki, seventeen; Kasumi, nineteen. Pick the one you want. She'll be your fiancee."

"Finacee?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, your fiancee. It's an agreement Tendo and I have. You are to marry one of these girls and unite the schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Mr. Saotome said.

"Don't we get any say in this?" Akane asked. She was the only one who protested.

"Fiancee? Ahh, I understand now." Ranma bowed deeply, adopting a saikeirei position, and said, "I sincerely apologize, but I must inform you that what you ask for is impossible." He sat back up. "I am a girl, you understand."

"Girl? You don't seem like one to me," Nabiki said. She poked at Ranma's chest as she spoke.

"I understand. Saotome has already told us all about your training. That's not a problem," her father said.

Ranma tipped his head and said, "Is that so?" He turned to look back at Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi, who all slightly stiffened in response.

The gaze put a hint of fear in Akane's heart. She did not like the connotation at all. Was it possible that Ranma was actually going to go along with this?

"Might I trouble you to use your telephone? I fear Onee-sama and the others must be terribly concerned for me right now," Ranma said.

The banality of the question, in comparison to the drastic impact of what she had thought Ranma was going to say, felt absurd. It threw Akane for a loop.

Kasumi, as unflappable as always, was much less off put. She said, "Of course. It is right over there."

Ranma stood up, showing the grace of a master of martial arts in doing so, and walked over to the phone.

"You have a daughter as well?" her father asked Mr. Saotome.

"Of course not," Mr. Saotome said, shaking his head. "I told you, the Onna-ken. It's gotten to him."

"Well, he's calling somebody," Nabiki said.

"Gokigenyou," Ranma said into the phone. "Yes... It appears my father has kidnapped me."

Akane looked at Mr. Saotome and asked, "You kidnapped him?"

"No, of course not! He's... umm... he's just confused," Mr. Saotome said. He gave out a forced laugh.

"I was walking home from school and he got the drop on me," Ranma said into the phone. He scratched the back of his head. "It's kind of embarrassing... Let me check."

Ranma put his hand over the phone's microphone and asked, "Where is this?"

"The Tendo Dojo, in Nerima," Kasumi said.

"The Tendo Dojo, in Nerima... I know that... Apparently my father wants me to marry one of his friend's daughters... I know that, too... Onee-sama, you have such an active imagination... Very well, I shall check," Ranma said. He put his hand over the phone again. "Do you want a ransom?"

"Uhh..." Nabiki said.

"No," Akane said. "How could you think that?"

Her father vigorously shook his head.

"Yes, I'm sure..." Ranma said back into the phone. He patted his pants. "No. I think he stole it all... No, really, I'll be fine. I can just run home... Do what you must. I'll wait here for Shimono-san. It's a dojo, so maybe they do some martial arts here anyway. Gokigenyou." He returned the phone's handset.

"Who is Shimono-san?" Nabiki asked.

"She's a chauffeur for the Ogasawara family," Ranma said.

Nabiki boggled at Ranma. She asked, "Did you just say the Ogasawara family?"

"Yes," Ranma said.

"As in the owners of those international resorts and theme parks? That Ogasawara family?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I never learned what they do," Ranma said. "Do you know them?"

"Everybody knows them! They're one of the riches families in Japan!" Nabiki shouted. "And you're related to them?"

"Kind of, I guess," Ranma said. "Not officially."

"I'll take the engagement!" Nabiki shouted.

"Excellent," her father said. He clapped onto Ranma's back. "I'm sure you two will get along well. Welcome to the family."

Akane felt relief, in that she had been very worried that she would be the one saddled with the engagement.

Ranma said, "Even if I had a desire for such a union, which I do not, I'm afraid to I must repeat what I said earlier. Such a union is not possible. I am a girl, you see."

"Nonsense," her father said. "Saotome's already told us about your training accident. That won't be a problem. You're a boy in all the ways that counts."

"I understand that you consider my father your friend, and I cast no judgment upon that. However, I feel I must warn you not to trust anything he says. He frequently deceives others for his own benefit. No matter what he has said, I am indeed a girl. I have a passport from the Japanese government stating such. They would not recognize such a union," Ranma said.

"Nonsense, boy. Your passport says your a boy. I still got it, and just look at you," Mr. Saotome said.

Akane nodded in agreement. As much as she distrusted this intruder in her life, he was her father's friend, and she couldn't dispute the evidence of her own eyes.

"That is a problem, isn't it? May I trouble you for some water?" Ranma asked.

"Of course," Kasumi said, and she left the room, missing Mr. Saotome's frantic shaking head and waving arms. She returned a few seconds later with the glass and handed it over.

"Thank you," Ranma said, picking up the water. He tipped the glass over his head.

It was like pealing away a sticker, revealing the image hidden beneath. The black in his hair poured away like wet paint, leaving a brilliant red in its place. Decimeters of height dissolved away like butter in a microwave. His body shrank, excepting his chest and hips which widened. In a matter of moments, Ranma had transformed into a girl.

"As I said before, I'm a girl. So you see, marriage would be quite impossible, no matter what agreement you had with my father," Ranma said, bowing again. Her feminine speech patterns and movements felt much more natural with her new form. Ranma could have been a princess from the Meiji Era with the way she spoke and acted.

"Don't let him fool you!" Mr. Saotome shouted. He threw a tea kettle he had acquired from somewhere at Ranma, dousing her. It reversed the transformation, Ranma once again growing in height and size, and his hair once again resuming its black color. "Ranma's really a boy. The marriage agreement is still valid."

Ranma shook his head. He said, "I'm afraid it is not."

"Saotome-san is saying that Ranma-san is a boy, but Ranma-san is claiming to be a girl. Which one is it?" Kasumi asked.

"There's an easy way to settle this," her father said. "Let's just call your wife. She'll tell us the truth, won't she?"

"No!" Mr. Saotome shouted, fear and panic loaded in his voice. "We can't do that!"

"So I guess it's true then. Ranma-chan is a girl," Nabiki said, shaking her head. "That's a shame. She's cute, in both forms."

* * *

Temporary Author's Notes:

For those of you who are curious what the original intention of this story was, I think this epilogue shows some of it. I had originally planned this story as being a flashfic, jumping from interesting scene to interesting scene. I ended up doing something similar for the epilogue. Having done so, I think it highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. I feel like it is better for short gags, but in terms of telling a whole story, there is a great deal of value in going through the "boring stuff in the middle." This is both because it is valuable in and of itself as well as it bringing up interesting plot developments and ensuring that what is written makes sense.

As a basic example, consider the scene when Ranma is asking Sachiko for advice about Ookubo. That had originally been the start of a scene:

"As she ran, to her left across the field, Ranma saw Sachiko. She veered in her direction. 'Onee-sama! Onee-sama! What should I do?'

'I don't know. Maybe you can send a challenge letter?' Sachiko asked."

That sounds fine in the abstract. However, only when it is connected it to the previous section does the problem become clear: how would Sachiko know what Ranma is talking about? It is these small details which get lost in a flashfic.

There is a counterpoint to this as well. Highlights and fast commentary, especially jokes, work far better with fast cuts. As an example, somebody sent me a funny joke scene which gave me a laugh, but when I tried to actually put it in context in a story, it fell flat. The same can be seen here. Imagine if the scenes with Ookubo or Ryouga had been just in the middle of some longer chapters. I could see them easily becoming lost.

Anyway, once again, that's another "chapter out," and indeed another story completed. I would love it if you would take some time to write a review or otherwise provide feedback. Even a statement saying you liked it (or didn't like it) would be appreciated it, although it would be better to say why. If you want to provide feedback but aren't sure what to say, I'd be open to hearing how various sections made you feel. Which scenes struck you and how? What did you feel about the characters, both on their own and in terms of true-to-canon? What do you think about the wider theme of the story and how well was it executed? Additionally, any typos, grammar corrections, plot holes, or anything else you can provide to improve this story would be appreciated as well.

I still need to do one last pass through this story as a final clean-up. This will probably happen in the coming weeks and months. If you are curious, you'll know it happened when all this temporary content disappears. In the meantime, thanks yet again for sticking through to the end. I hope you enjoyed this story.

* * *

Last Updated: November 12, 2020


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